TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 

Bgents 

THE  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK 

THE  CUNNINGHAM,  CURTISS  &  WELCH  COMPANY 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

LONDON  AND  EDINBURGH 

THE  MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 

TOKYO,   OSAKA,    KYOTO,   FUKUOKA,   SENDAI 

THE  MISSION  BOOK  COMPANY 

SHANGHAI 

KARLW.  HIERSEMANN 

LEIPZIG 


TEACHING 
HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

A   HANDBOOK 


By 
JOSIAH  BETHEA  GAME,  PH.D. 

Professor  of  Ancient  Languages,  Florida  State  College  for  Women 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


COPYRIGHT  1916  BY 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Published  October  1916 


Composed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

Chicago,  Illinois,  U.S.A. 


DEDICATED  TO 

PROFESSOR  EDWARD  PARMELEE  MORRIS 
OF  YALE  UNIVERSITY 


349320 


PREFACE 

This  little  book  represents  a  revision  and  enlargement 
of  the  Handbook  for  High-School  Teachers  of  Latin  which 
was  published  as  a  bulletin  of  the  Missouri  State  Normal 
School,  Cape  Girardeau,  in  1907,  while  the  writer  was 
connected  with  that  institution  as  professor  of  Latin  and 
Greek.  That  bulletin  had  a  surprising  popularity.  An 
edition  of  five  thousand  was  distributed  within  a  short 
time,  mainly  in  response  to  requests  from  all  parts  of  the 
country.  Even  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  eight  years,  calls 
for  copies  are  frequently  received. 

An  earnest  effort  has  been  made  to  prepare  a  practical 
manual  that  will  meet  some  of  the  immediate  needs  of  the 
young  teacher  of  Latin.  The  plans  proposed  represent 
actual  experience  in  the  high  school,  the  normal  school y 
and  the  college.  They  have  been  tested  thoroughly  and 
found  effective.  They  do  not  represent  a  final  solution  of 
all  the  problems  of  the  young  teacher,  but  they  do  represent 
the  best  contribution  the  writer  can  now  make  to  the  cause 
of  better  teaching  in  our  schools. 

Some  of  the  suggestions  here  given  were  made  originally 
by  Professor  C.  U.  Clark,  director  of  the  American  Acad- 
emy, Rome,  Italy.  My  obligation  to  him  is  very  great. 
Professors  G.  J.  Laing  and  F.  J.  Miller,  of  the  University 
of  Chicago,  did  me  the  kindness  to  read  the  manuscript 
and  make  suggestions  which  have  added  very  much  to  the 
value  of  the  book.  Their  help  is  fully  appreciated. 

Professor  Francis  W.  Kelsey,  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, gave  me  permission  to  use  quotations  from  his  excellent 


viii  PREFACE 

volume,  Latin  and  Greek  in  American  Education.  Those 
who  read  this  book  will  understand  my  high  appreciation 
of  this  favor. 

Young  Latin  teachers  are  doing  a  large  part  in  educating 
the  rising  generation  and  in  upholding  scholarly  ideals 
among  the  people.  May  this  little  book  serve  to  strengthen 
their  hands  and  hearts  in  their  good  work. 


JOSIAH  B.  GAME 


TALLAHASSEE,  FLORIDA 
August  14,  1916 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  LATIN'S  IMMEDIATE  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION      ...  i 

II.  LATIN'S  LARGER  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION  AND  IN  LIFE  .  10 

III.  CLASSICAL  STUDIES  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE 19 

IV.  THE  TEACHER  AND  His  SUBJECT 35 

V.  THE  TRAINING  OF  THE  LATIN  TEACHER       ....  40 

VI.    ENGLISH  IN  LATIN  STUDY 47 

VII.  PUBLIC  TESTIMONY  TO  THE  VALUE  OF  LATIN  STUDY  .     .  52 

VIII.  THE  TEXT:    ITS  AUTHOR  AND  PUBLISHER    ....  54 

IX.    FIRST-YEAR  LATIN 57 

X.    SECOND-YEAR  LATIN 74 

XI.    THIRD-YEAR  LATIN 87 

XII.    FOURTH- YEAR  LATIN 91 

XIII.  LATIN  PROSE  COMPOSITION 96 

XIV.  THE  LATIN  BIBLE,  LATIN  HYMNS,  AND  SONGS    ...  99 
^  XV.  CLASSROOM  EQUIPMENT  FOR  THE  LATIN  DEPARTMENT  .  108 

XVI.  QUESTIONS,  WITH  ANSWERS  AND  SUGGESTIONS  .     .     .114 


CHAPTER  I 
LATIN'S  IMMEDIATE  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION 

Latin  one  of  several  subjects. — For  many  centuries 
Latin  has  held  an  honored  place  in  the  schools  of  Europe 
and  America,  and  during  much  of  that  time  it  has  been  one 
of  three  or  four  subjects  whose  material  has  been  so 
organized  that  they  could  be  used  as  effective  educational 
instruments.  Within  the  last  half-century  a  number  of 
other  subjects  have  been  developed,  that  is,  have  been 
found  to  possess  a  valuable  content,  and  about  that  qontent 
has  been  grouped  a  literature  sufficient  for  successful  use 
in  the  schools.  Of  late  there  has  been  a  rather  unfortunate 
tendency  to  force  into  this  company  of  tested  subjects  an 
almost  indefinite  number  which  have  no  certain  content,  no 
organized  literature,  and  no  record  of  achievement.  Some 
of  these  proposed  subjects  may  some  day  prove  worthy  of 
acceptance,  but  they  should  not  be  urged  unduly.  If  they 
are  to  have  a  place,  it  should  be  a  place  of  their  own. 
They  should  not  crowd  out  other  subjects  which  have 
rendered  effective  service. 

In  the  work  of  educating  the  people,  every  subject  which 
can  do  a  definite  work  and  secure  definite  results  should 
have  its  place.  Where  more  than  one  are  known  to  reach 
the  same  result,  that  one  should  have  the  preference  which 
secures  the  immediate  result  sought  and  which  has  the 
largest  margin  in  other  related  results. 

Why  do  we  teach  Latin  in  the  schools? — Latin  and 
mathematics  have  had  more  than  a  fair  share  of  the  criti- 
cism of  those  who  would  find  something  wrong  with  our 


2  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

educational  system.  This  is  especially  true  of  Latin 
because  there  seems  to  be  a  mistaken  idea  of  what  can 
fairly  be  expected  of  Latin  in  the  schools.  Now  and  then 
an  extremist  seems  to  blame  Latin  for  not  doing  all  those 
things  which  are  expected  of  all  the  high-school  subjects 
combined.  In  rare  instances  a  warm  defender  of  Latin 
takes  about  the  same  point  of  view  and  claims  credit  for 
all  that  is  accomplished.  Neither  position  is  correct  or 
reasonable. 

Many  of  those  who  from  experience  know  the  possi- 
bilities of  Latin  are  persuaded  that  a  well-trained  teacher 
can  reach  more  phases  of  a  young  man's  education  by  using 
Latin  than  by  using  any  other  single  subject.  This  may 
well  be  the  attitude  of  every  teacher  toward  his  subject, 
but  he  must  be  careful  not  to  undervalue  the  work  of  other 
teachers,  or  to  claim  as  his  own  results  which  he  is  only  a 
sharer  in  securing.  Latin  has  a  certain  rather  definite 
part  in  our  educational  scheme,  and  it  behooves  the  faithful 
teacher  to  know  what  he  is  expected  to  accomplish  and  to 
see,  first  of  all,  that  his  energies  are  exerted  in  that  direction. 

In  indicating  the  ends  which  we  may  reasonably  expect 
to  attain  in  teaching  Latin,  it  seems  a  satisfactory  plan 
to  give  the  statements  prepared  by  men  who  have 'all  the 
facts  well  in  hand. 

a)  Professor  Foster,  New  York  City. — The  more  imme- 
diate purpose  of  the  Latin  teacher  is  well  set  out  in  this 
quotation  from  Professor  W.  E.  Foster,  of  the  Stuyvesant 
High  School,  New  York  City,  in  "  Reorganization  of  Sec- 
ondary Education/'  a  bulletin  of  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Education: 

The  following  are  some  of  the  aims  which  seem  worth  while:  to 
enrich  the  English  vocabulary,  both  in  the  addition  of  new  words 


LATIN'S  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION  3 

and  particularly  by  a  more  perfect  mastery  and  clear  understanding 
of  many  of  the  words  already  in  use;  to  develop  an  appreciation  of 
word,  phrase,  and  clause  relations;  to  teach  clearness  and  accuracy 
of  expression,  both  oral  and  written;  to  develop  habits  of  industry 
and  application;  to  make  the  pupil  an  intelligent  critic  of  his  own 
oral  and  written  speech  and  that  of  others;  to  lay  a  good  foundation 
for  the  study  of  English  and  other  modern  languages;  to  read  some 
of  the  great  Latin  masterpieces;  "to  give  a  wider  view  of  life  through 
familiarity  with  a  great  civilization  remote  from  the  present,  both  in 
time  and  place,  'in  the  cool,  calm  air  of  noncontemporaneous  events.' " 
Many  of  the  results  of  the  successful  teaching  of  Latin  just  men- 
tioned are,  so  to  speak,  by-products.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that 
these  so-called  by-products  of  the  study  of  Latin — the  illumination 
of  an  English  word,  of  a  grammatical  principle,  or  of  a  fundamental 
law  of  language,  the  casual  remark  that  throws  a  suggestive  side- 
light upon  some  vital  fact  of  history,  of  law,  of  religious  and  social 
custom,  and  upon  civilization  in  general — are  the  things  which  cling 
in  the  memory  long  after  one  has  lost  the  ability  to  translate  a  passage 
from  Cicero  or  to  classify  a  subjunctive  or  an  ablative. 

b}  Professor  Kelsey,  University  of  Michigan. — The 
following  quotation  from  Latin  and  Greek  in  American 
Education,  p.  21,  gives  a  very  complete  and  comprehensive 
summary  of  the  purposes  back  of  Latin  teaching: 

Specifically,  Latin  and  Greek  become  effective  as  educational 

instruments  in  at  least  seven  different  ways: 

By  training  in  the  essentials  of  scientific  method:  observation,  com- 
parison, generalization; 

By  making  our  own  language  intelligible  and  developing  the  power  of 
expression; 

By  bringing  the  mind  into  contact  with  literature  in  elemental  forms; 

By  giving  insight  into  a  basic  civilization ; 

By  cultivating  the  constructive  imagination; 

By  clarifying  moral  ideals,  and  stimulating  to  right  conduct; 

By  furnishing  means  of  recreation. 

Of  these,  the  sixth  and  seventh  belong  more  particularly 
to  the  discussion  of  the  chapter  which  follows. 


4  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

c)  Professor  Laurie,  University  of  Edinburgh. — In  his 
volume  Lectures  on  Language  and  Linguistic  Method, 
chap,  ix,  Professor  Laurie  gives  the  following  "  reasons 
for  teaching  Latin  ": 

We  teach  Latin — 

1.  Because  as  a  formal  and  grammatical  study  it  has  peculiar 
advantages,  and  more  than  any  other  language  (except  Greek)  gives 
discipline  to  the  intelligence,  and  the  result  of  discipline,  viz.,  intel- 
lectual power. 

2.  The  study  of  Latin  gives  (to  an  Englishman  at  least),  more 
than  any  other  language  can  do,  a  training  in  words — the  relative 
values  and  the  functions  of  words — and,  consequently,  training  in  the 
thought-things  which  words  denote.     The  shades  of  meaning  in 
vocables  are  brought  into  high  relief. 

3.  The  analysis  and  subsequent  synthesis  whereby  we    truly 
comprehend  an  English  sentence,  and  which  is  a  direct  training  of 
the  processes  of  mind  in  knowing  (in  the  scientific  or  any  other  field), 
are  most  effective  as  training  when  it  is  a  foreign  tongue  that  we  are 
teaching;  and,  above  all,  when  that  tongue  is  Latin.     This  is  because, 
in  order  to  produce  an  English  translation,  a  pupil  is  forced,  whether 
he  will  or  not,  deliberately  and  of  set  purpose  to  consider  the  mutual 
relations  of  the  parts  of  a  complex  sentence;   and,  secondly,  because 
of  the  exactness  and  precision  with  which  these  logical  relations  are 
brought  into  prominence  in  a  highly  synthetic  language.     In  this 
relation,  Latin  is  better  than  Greek,  because  there  is  less  deviation 
in  it  from  a  normal  type.     There  is  breadth,  strength,  and  simplicity 
about  its  grammar.  .... 

4.  The  working  out  of  a  translation  from  a  foreign  tongue  is 
further  a  training  of  the  imagination,  which  has  to  bring  itself  into 
play  in  order  to  unite  into  a  whole,  in  their  true  signification,  the  parts 
of  a  sentence.     Latin  in  a  special  sense  gives  this  training  because 
of  its  remoteness.     The  imagination,  moreover,  is  checked  and  kept 
within  the  wholesome  bounds  of  truthfulness  by  comparing  the 
results  achieved  with  the  original. 

5.  Latin  is  to  a  very  large  extent  (to  the  extent  of  two-thirds 
at  least)   our  own  tongue.     In  studying  Latin,  therefore,  we  are 
studying  our  own  tongue  in  its  sources,  and  getting  all  the  discipline 


LATIN'S  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION  5 

and  nutrition  of  mind  which  flows  from  the  study  of  the  origin  and 
history  of  words.  Latin  enables  us  to  revivify  our  own  tongue  for 
ourselves.  Nay,  we  are  studying  our  own  language  in  much  of  its 
syntactical  mould  also,  as  may  be  seen  by  reading  our  early  prose 
writers,  and  even  those  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

6.  It  follows  from  the  preceding  reason  that  in  studying  Latin 
we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  modern  conceptions  as  to  moral 
duties,  social  relations,  and  legal  obligations  in  their  origins,  and  that 
we  thus  undergo  a  kind  of  unconscious  philosophical  training  suited 
to  the  as  yet  immature  mind,  and  moulding  its  conceptions  from  the 
foundation.     Dr.  W.  T.  Harris,  Education  Commissioner  for  the 
United  States,  says:    "One  may  say  that  of  a  hundred  boys,  fifty 
of  whom  had  studied  Latin  for  a  period  of  six  months,  while  the  other 
fifty  had  not  studied  Latin  at  all,  the  fifty  with  the  smattering  of 
Latin  would  possess  some  slight  impulse  towards  analyzing  the  legal 
and  political  view  of  human  life,  and  surpass  the  other  fifty  in  that 
direction.     Placed  on  a  distant  frontier  with  a  task  of  building  a 
new  civilization,  the  fifty  with  a  smattering  of  Latin  would  furnish 
the  law -makers  and  political  rulers,  legislators,  and  builders  of  state." 

This  may  be  an  exaggeration,  but  there  is  an  element  of  truth  in 
it.  In  any  case,  Latin  is  not  a  dead  language.  Its  influence  is  still 
living  in  our  own  tongue,  our  thought,  our  feeling,  our  institutions, 
our  law,  our  religion,  our  polity.  A  language  does  not  cease  to  live 
because  it  ceases  to  be  spoken. 

7.  In  studying  Latin  we  are  taking  possession  of  the  key  of  the 
Romance  languages,  shortening  the  time  needed  for  acquiring  these 
by  at  least  one-half. 

8.  The  study  of  Latin  introduces  the  pupil  in  its  later  stages  to  a 
conscious  discernment  of  art  in  language — the  artistic  and  beautiful 
in  expression — and  this  to  a  degree  which  no  modern  tongue  can  do, 
because,  first,  of  its  chaste  severity  of  form,  and,  secondly,  because 
being-aoJar  removed  from  our  own  time,  we  can  look  at  it  as  a  fresh 
and  alien  object.     Thus  by  contrast  our  implicit  feelings  regarding 
literary  form  in  our  own  tongue  are  brought  into  explicit  conscious- 
ness— raised,  in  short,  from  vague  feeling  into  knowledge. 

9.  The  study  of  Latin,  especially  in  its  later  stages,  when  it  is 
accompanied  by  the  study  of  the  life,  art,  and  literature  of  Rome,  has 
a  remarkable  influence  on  the  tone  of  thought  and  character.     It  has 


6  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

influence  by  connecting  us  in  a  living  way  with  what  seems,  but  truly 
is  not,  a  dead  past,  and  thereby  expanding  our  intellectual  and  moral 
sympathies  so  as  to  embrace  that  past  as  part  of  our  own  life.  It 
makes  us  members  of  a  larger  human  society.  Modern  contemporary 
language  and  life  are  too  near  to  our  own  to  have  this  cultivating 
influence  to  the  same  extent,  and  do  not  teach  us  to  see  things  in  a 
true  perspective;  they  may  be  said  to  broaden  our  lives,  but  they 
do  not  lengthen  them.  Neither  the  Hindu  nor  the  Chinese  language 
and  life  would  serve,  because  they  are  not  our  past.  The  ancient 
life,  by  thus  stimulating  the  historical  imagination  and  carrying  it 
out  of  the  present,  tends  to  give  balance  of  mind,  checks  sciolism  of 
opinion  and  crudeness  of  judgment  based  on  a  narrow  induction  of 
things  which,  as  being  close  at  hand,  are  apt  to  assume  undue  im- 
portance. The  true  humanity  of  the  growing  boy  is  thus  deepened 
and  strengthened. 

Of  these,  the  sixth  and  ninth  belong  more  particularly 
to  the  discussion  of  the  following  chapter. 

d)  Mr.  Charles  R.  Williams,  editor  of  the  ''Indianapolis 
News." — In  an  address  before  the  Michigan  Schoolmasters' 
Club,  Editor  Charles  R.  Williams,  speaking  on  "The  Study 
of  Latin  and  Greek  as  a  Training  for  Practical  Affairs/' 
gave  the  following  summary  of  the  results  which  follow 
classical  study: 

For  a  man  that  seeks  to  be  a  leader  in  the  practical  life  of  the 
world  the  study  of  the  humanities,  of  Greek  and  Latin,  is  to  be  recom- 
mended and  urged,  therefore,  because  of  the  thorough  understanding 
and  mastery  of  English  that  it  gives;  because  of  the  discipline  of  the 
intellectual  powers  it  affords,  in  determining  the  precise  meaning  of 
an  author's  discourse;  because  of  the  knowledge  gained  of  the  sources 
ctf  our  own  language,  our  institutions,  and  our  culture;  because  of  the 
cultivation  of  taste  that  comes  thereby  for  all  that  is  high  and  fine 
in  literature  and  art;  because  of  the  wider  vision  it  gives  to  the 
spirit  of  men,  and  because  it  deepens  one's  sense  of  the  continuity 
of  culture,  of  the  solidarity  of  the  race,  of  our  debt  to  the  past,  and 
so  of  our  obligation  to  the  future. 


LATIN'S  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION  7 

Summary  of  results. — These  statements  of  the  results 
which  should  follow  Latin  study  are  about  as  complete  as 
any  that  can  be  found.  A  close  examination  of  them  seems 
to  lead  up  to  the  following  groups  : 

GROUP  I 

1.  Enrichment   of   the   English   vocabulary.    New   words   are 
added,  and  their  exact  values  and  meanings,  together  with  those  of 
familiar  words,  are  understood. 

2.  Accurate  knowledge  of  the  English  sentence.    Its  analysis 
and  synthesis,  with  appreciation  of  word,  phrase,  and  clause  relations, 
become  fixed  in  mind. 

3.  The  foundation  is  laid  for  modern-language  study,  in  particular 
the  Romance  languages.     The  Teutonic  languages  are  made  easier 
by  reason  of  training  in  foreign  language. 

GROUP  II 

1.  An  insight  into  the  Roman  civilization,  its  laws,  customs, 
religion,  and  ordinary  life,  with  a  consequent  appreciation  of  our 
indebtedness  to  the  past. 

2.  Contact  with  the  world's  great  past  and  with  one  of  the  world's 
great  literatures. 

GROUP  III 

1.  Habits  of  industry  and  intense  application. 

2.  Clearness  and  accuracy  of  thought  and  expression  and  intel- 
ligent criticism  of  oral  and  written  speech. 

3.  Development  of  literary  taste  and  of  interest  in  art  and  litera- 
ture. 

4.  Mental  discipline  and  the  consequent  development  of  intellec- 
tual power. 

GROUP  IV 

Under  this  heading  may  be  included  that  larger  service  rendered 
by  Latin  in  education  and  in  life  which  is  touched  upon  in  these 
statements  but  discussed  more  at  length  in  the  succeeding  chapter. 

uWho  is  equal  to  these  things?" — One  who  examines 
this  list  wonders  whether  all  of  these  things  can  be 


8  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

accomplished  by  Latin,  and,  if  so,  whether  anything 
is  left  for  the  other  subjects  taught  in  the  high  schools. 

Not  all  these  results  can  be  hoped  for  from  the  high- 
school  courses  in  Latin,  as  will  be  seen  later  on.  Evidence 
in  unmeasured  quantity  is  available  to  prove  that  Latin  in 
the  hands  of  a  well-educated  man  can  do  large  things  in 
securing  these  results.  There  may  be  other  means  avail- 
able, but  the  evidence  is  not  so  complete  or  irresistible. 
One  difference  between  the  Latin  teacher  and  his  fellow- 
teacher  is  that  he  is  able  to  work  with  chart  and  compass 
in  hand,  if  he  will,  and  may  know  what  port  he  is  making 
for  and  what  he  is  expected  to  declare  when  he  enters  the 
harbor. 

The  Latin  teacher  may  not  succeed  in  doing  all  the 
things  enumerated;  most  probably  he  will  not;  but  he  is 
limited  only  by  the  capacity  of  the  class,  measured  by  its 
preparation  and  native  strength,  and  by  a  just  regard  for 
the  other  departments  that  have  claim  on  the  pupil's  time. 
Therefore  to  his  great  relief,  he  may  have  before  him  a 
fairly  dependable  statement  of  his  duties. 

The  teacher's  task. — i.  Teach  Latin,  and  teach  Latin 
for  its  own  sake. — By  this  is  meant  that  you  are  to  see  to  it 
that  the  amount  of  work  in  Latin  apportioned  to  each  year 
is  taught  as  thoroughly  and  perfectly  as  your  ability  and 
that  of  the  class  will  permit.  The  exact  work  required  in 
each  year  is  indicated  in  the  discussions  which  are  given 
on  another  page.  Your  prime  task  is  to  see,  to  the  best 
of  your  ability,  that  the  Latin  assigned  is  learned — as  to 
forms,  constructions,  vocabularies,  reading,  writing. 

This  task,  if  well  done,  will  secure  in  a  fair  measure  the 
results  shown  in  group  I.  These  results  will  appear  more 
abundantly  after  further  study  in  college  Latin,  but  you 


LATIN'S  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION  9 

may  have  group  I  to  your  credit,  anyway.  The  other 
groups,  especially  II  and  III,  will  be  slightly  affected  also 
by  this  first  task.  It  may  be  that  this  is  all  that  your  class 
can  be  held  to.  If  so,  your  part  is  done. 

2.  Teach  Latin  for  the  pupil's  sake. — This  is  in  fact  our 
only  reason  for  teaching  anything.  By  laying  aside  this 
consideration  for  the  moment,  as  is  suggested  above, 
certain  results  can  be  obtained  which  are  in  themselves 
desirable.  When  those  smaller  results  have  been  obtained, 
this  larger  task  confronts  you — the  task  of  so  teaching 
Latin  that  the  pupil's  mental  horizon  continually  enlarges 
and  that  he  becomes  more  fully  possessed  of  his  own  natural 
resources. 

Rules  cannot  be  laid  down  for  this  part  of  the  task  as 
they  can  for  the  teaching  of  syntax,  and  yet  the  real  teacher 
sees  his  opportunity  and  uses  it  in  making  the  way  for  a 
good  habit  or  a  noble  resolution. 

This  second  task,  if  well  done,  will  secure  the  results 
enumerated  in  groups  II  and  III,  and  affect  strongly  those 
referred  to  in  group  IV.  The  teacher  may  make  more 
sure  of  group  II  than  of  group  III  or  IV,  in  the  very  nature 
of  the  case,  but  all  these  results  will  be  larger  and  more 
pronounced  if  the  pupil's  study  is  continued  in  college. 
The  high  school  can  only  make  a  reasonable  beginning  in 
the  way  of  securing  the  larger  results  on  which  life  and 
destiny  depend. 


CHAPTER  II 
LATIN'S  LARGER  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION  AND  IN  LIFE 

Latin's  hold  upon  public  confidence. — Latin  has  had  a 
place  in  the  schools  of  Europe  and  America  for  many  cen- 
turies and  is  now  being  studied  by  more  young  men  and 
young  women  than  at  any  other  time  in  the  world's  his- 
tory. Men  like  Herbert  Spencer  have  tried  to  break  this 
hold  that  Latin  has  had  upon  the  confidence  of  the  public, 
but  they  have  not  been  wholly  successful.  Young  people 
continue  to  elect  Latin,  even  against  the  opposition  of 
administrative  officers,  and  their  parents  approve  the 
choice.  The  people  of  our  country  are  so  firmly  con- 
vinced of  the  effectiveness  of  Latin  that  we  have  very 
few  high  schools  which  do  not  offer  that  subject.  Those 
which  do  not  offer  Latin  are  generally  discredited,  and 
it  is  rather  seldom  that  a  young  man  who  has  aspira- 
tions of  real  scholarship  will  voluntarily  attend  such  a 
school. 

Why  this  clinging  to  Latin  ? — There  is  a  reason  for  this 
persistent  holding  to  Latin.  Other  subjects  are  widely 
heralded  as  substitutes,  and  Latin  is  decried  by  various 
agencies,  but  all  to  little  avail.  Why  do  parents  encourage 
their  sons  and  daughters  to  study  Latin  rather  than  one 
of  the  proffered  substitutes  ? 

There  are  several  reasons  for  this,  but  probably  the  one 
which  more  than  all  others  grips  people  and  gains  friends 
for  the  study  of  Latin  is  the  emphatic  indorsement  given 
it  by  many  of  our  country's  noblest  and  best  men,  who 
have  not  hesitated  to  express  their  indebtedness  to  classical 


LATIN'S  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION  AND  IN  LIFE      n 

study  and  to  attribute  to  it  much  of  their  own  success  in 
life.  This  is  and  has  been  a  stone  wall  against  which  the 
charges  of  anti-Latinists  have  fallen  flat.  Hundreds  who 
are  recognized  as  the  strong  men  of  the  nation  have  given 
evidence  as  to  the  value  derived  in  their  own  lives  from  the 
study  of  Greek  and  Latin,  but  have  said  very  little  of  other 
subjects. 

The  evidence  of  great  men  is  conclusive. — It  is  the 
merest  folly  to  undertake  to  set  aside  the  emphatic  evidence 
of  statesmen,  business  men,  bankers,  lawyers,  physicians, 
ministers,  engineers,  scientists,  and  others  in  large  numbers, 
such  as  was  given  at  the  classical  conferences  held  at  the 
University  of  Michigan.  Among  these  witnesses  were  such 
men  as  Drs.  Vaughan,  De  Nancrede,  and  Hinsdale  of  the 
university  medical  faculty;  Professors  Saddler,  Patterson, 
Williams,  and  Davis  of  the  engineering  faculty;  Mr. 
Merritt  Starr  and  Mr.  Lyndon  Evans  of  the  Chicago  bar; 
Dean  Hutchens  of  the  university  law  faculty;  Hon. 
Harlow  P.  Davock,  Hon.  Levi  I.  Barbour,  and  Hon. 
Hinton  E.  Spalding  of  the  Detroit  bar;  Hon.  James  Bryce, 
then  ambassador  from  Great  Britain;  Hon.  John  W.  Foster, 
Hon.  James  Brown  Scott,  and  Dr.  Harvey  W.  Wiley  of 
Washington;  and  Mr.  Charles  Williams  of  Indianapolis. 
All  these,  and  others  in  goodly  numbers,  were  outspoken 
in  their  support  of  the  classics,  and  nearly  every  one  of  the 
speakers  recognized  the  service  which  had  been  rendered 
to  himself. 

Recent  testimony  from  President  Wilson,  Ex-President 
Taft,  Hon.  John  D.  Long,  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  Mr.  S.  S. 
McClure,  Mr.  C.  P.  Steinmetz,  and  others,  is  familiar  to 
those  who  regularly  read  the  Classical  Weekly  and  the 
Classical  Journal. 


12  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

These  men  are  as  capable  of  giving  competent  evidence 
as  are  any  men  who  ever  lived.  If  they  recognize  the 
worth  of  classical  study  and  favor  its  continuance  as  an 
educational  instrument,  the  mere  faddist  or  the  educa- 
tional revolutionist  may  shout  himself  hoarse.  Sensible 
men  who  want  to  make  the  best  possible  citizens  out  of 
their  children  will  persist  in  holding  to  the  studies  which 
have  a  record  writ  large  in  the  lives  of  our  best  men  and 
women. 

The  classics  in  character-building. — Most  fathers 
recognize  the  fact  that  their  sons  and  daughters  have  a 
limited  period  of  time  available  for  their  education.  They 
are  anxious  that  during  this  time  the  foundation  be  laid 
on  which  strong  character  may  be  builded.  Many  of  them 
know  from  their  own  experience,  others  from  evidence  such 
as  has  been  referred  to,  that  Latin  has  been  credited  with 
doing  large  things  in  the  way  of  character-building.  They 
do  not  wish  to  experiment  with  the  destiny  of  their  own 
children,  and  in  consequence  they  hold  fast  to  "the  old 
ways."  Very  few  men  want  their  sons  to  grow  up  into  the 
type  of  citizen  that  is  represented  by  the  educational 
agitator,  but  all  would  gladly  have  their  sons  follow  in  the 
footsteps  of  such  men  as  those  who  have  been  mentioned  as 
friendly  to  the  classics. 

Generally,  and  in  the  colleges  in  particular,  Latin  has 
been  taught  by  strong  men  of  unquestioned  integrity,  and 
their  strength  has  been  potent  in  doubling  the  value  of  the 
subject  which  they  have  taught.  Latin  furnished  them  an 
effective  means  of  directing  the  development  of  the  young 
men  who  studied  in  their  classes.  Perhaps  they  could 
have  done  good  work  in  character-building  with  some  other 
subject,  but  the  point  is  that  they  did  accomplish  what 


LATIN'S  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION  AND  IN  LIFE      13 

they  did  with  Latin  as  their  instrument.     And  Latin  is 
just  as  readily  available  today  as  it  ever  was. 

It  is  submitted  then  that  much  of  the  firmness  of  the 
public's  hold  upon  the  classics  is  due  to  a  fixed  belief  that 
in  some  way  these  subjects  have  a  decided  bearing  upon 
the  developing  of  character  in  the  young.  The  charge  that 
Latin  is  not  a  practical  subject  has  been  waived  in  favor  of 
the  consideration  that  it  does  a  larger  service  in  enabling 
the  student  to  store  up  in  mind  and  heart  those  permanent 
resources  which  come  forth  as  from  a  never-failing  store- 
house when  their  master  has  need.  So  long  as  Latin 
study  continues  to  contribute  so  largely  to  human  society, 
men  and  women  will  call  for  its  help  in  making  citizens  and 
noble  characters. 

The  immediate  and  the  larger  service. — In  the  state- 
ments given  in  the  previous  chapter,  which  bore  more 
directly  upon  the  immediate  work  of  the  Latin  teacher, 
it  was  noticed  that  the  larger  service  loomed  up  high  even 
by  the  very  side  of  the  more  immediate;  that  those  whose 
statements  were  quoted  invariably  led  up  to  or  pointed  to 
the  larger  service  of  Latin  study  as,  after  all,  quite  as 
important  as  the  smaller  and  more  immediate.  In  other 
words,  the  immediate  was  apparently  regarded  as  a  door- 
way to  the  larger  and  more  vital.  The  educator  who  recog- 
nizes the  fact  that  education  amounts  to  nothing  except 
as  it  develops  the  larger  phases  of  human  character  and 
makes  for  the  sum  of  human  betterment  has  indeed  found 
the  secret  of  real  service.  Very  generally  Latin  is  credited 
with  effectiveness  in  the  hands  of  such  educators.  Perhaps 
the  best  way  to  bring  out  this  larger  service,  as  coupled  with 
and  following  the  more  immediate,  is  to  present  the  evidence 
of  men  who  are  recognized  as  competent  witnesses. 


14  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

The  evidence  of  Mr.  James  Loeb. — The  following  state- 
ment concludes  an  address  made  by  Mr.  James  Loeb,  of 
Kuhn,  Loeb  &  Co.,  bankers: 

The  great  and  legitimate  aim  of  a  business  man  is  to  make  money, 
to  provide  for  himself  and  his  family  such  luxuries  and  comforts  as 
his  tastes  and  social  standing  demand.  But  when  a  man  has  reached 
the  goal  of  his  desires,  when  he  has  made  his  pile  and  wants  to  enjoy 
it,  then  comes  the  time  for  the  making  of  the  real  and  only  balance 
sheet.  Then  he  must  ask  himself,  "  What  are  my  resources,  now  that 
I  have  everything  that  money  can  buy  ?  What  are  my  spiritual  and 
intellectual  assets  ?  How  can  I  best  spend  what  is  left  to  me  of  life  ?  " 
Lucky  is  the  man  whose  early  training  fits  him  for  something  more 
than  the  golf  field,  or  the  tennis  court,  and  for  something  better  than 
the  gaming-table  when  his  days  of  business  activity  are  over.  He  can 
taste  the  gentler  pleasures  that  await  him  in  his  study  and  by  the 
blazing  hearth-fire.  His  Sophocles  or  his  Homer  or  his  Catullus  will 
make  the  winter  of  life  seem  like  its  early  spring,  when  the  greatest 
struggle  he  knew  was  with  the  elusive  rules  of  grammar  and  syntax. 

As  seen  by  Mr.  William  Sloane. — The  following  state- 
ment is  taken  from  an  address  by  Mr.  William  Sloane, 
president  of  W.  and  J.  Sloane,  bankers : 

A  business  man  who  has  had  a  classical  education  cannot  fail 
to  remember  with  reverence  and  affection  those  patient,  consecrated 
men  who  taught  him  Latin  and  Greek,  and  awoke  in  him  a  love  for 
the  beautiful.  Such  men  as  these,  with  ideals,  he  perhaps  no  longer 
meets  in  his  daily  vocation.  With  the  passing  years  he  may  have 
forgotten  the  very  names  of  the  classics  he  read  at  college;  but  the 
memory  of  those  days,  of  those  men,  of  their  enthusiasm  in  their 
work,  has  had  its  effect  on  the  man  himself  and  he  is  better  for  it,  and 
I  believe  a  better  business  man,  too ;  for  unconsciously  he  has  acquired 
something  which  he  values  as  a  precious  possession,  a  something  which 
distinguishes  him  from  his  fellows  and  makes  him  singularly  happy 
in  his  work. 

We  must  look  after  the  man  himself. — In  this  connec- 
tion it  is  proper  to  call  attention  to  the  necessity  of  making 


LATIN'S  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION  AND  IN  LIFE      15 

the  man  himself  the  center  of  educational  interest.  We 
have  had  a  somewhat  strenuous  campaign  in  the  interest 
of  highly  specialized  scientists,  engineers,  mechanics,  and 
operatives,  and  the  end  has  been  fairly  well  attained,  but 
there  is  ground  for  complaint  in  the  type  of  men  thus 
obtained.  It  is  being  felt  more  and  more  that  a  sane 
education  must  include  primarily  such  development  and 
training  as  will  render  the  man's  nature  refined  and  en- 
nobled, will  awake  him  to  lofty  endeavor,  and  will  bring 
him  into  sympathy  with  what  is  noblest  and  best  in  life— 
in  his  own  life  and  in  the  world  in  which  he  moves.  This 
fuller  training  for  a  place  in  the  world  as  a  complete  man 
is  wholly  independent  of  the  question  of  a  training  for  any 
trade  or  profession — which  it  does  not  exclude,  of  course; 
but  the  emphasis  is  changed  from  an  apparently  essential 
one  to  one  which  the  whole  world  will  recognize  as  abso- 
lutely real  and  fundamental. 

A  man  may  be  a  splendidly  trained  farmer,  or  mechanic, 
or  even  professional  man,  and  may  be  able  to  make  money 
in  abundance;  but  if  he  is  not  more  than  these  things,  does 
life  really  mean  much  to  him  ?  Is  he  broadly  sympathetic 
toward  what  is  best  in  the  world  of  art  and  letters  ?  Does 
he  see  anything  in  painting,  or  sculpture,  or  in  music  ? 
Do  these  have  any  message  for  him  ?  Does  he  find  a 
friend  in  great  books  ?  Do  the  spirits  of  great  and  good 
men  commune  with  his  spirit  as  he  goes  about  his  daily 
toil  ? 

Rather,  is  there  not  a  danger  that  his  life  will  be  hollow; 
that  he  will  be  lacking  in  a  spirit  of  true  humility  and  of 
appreciation  of  the  rights  of  others;  that  tie  will  become 
hard,  unfeeling,  ungenerous,  and  self-centered;  that  he 
will  be  dependent  upon  public  amusements  for  his  highest 


1 6  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

pleasures  ?  Will  not  those  finer  qualities  of  nature  forsake 
the  man  who  does  not  cultivate  them,  in  whose  mind  a 
permanent  place  has  not  been  prepared  for  their  in- 
dwelling ? 

After  the  living  is  made,  then  what? — We  all  recognize 
the  importance  of  professional  and  vocational  training, 
and  Latinists  have  done  their  part  in  promoting  the  interests 
of  the  subjects  which  bear  upon  the  problem  of  making  a 
living.  After  the  living  is  made,  then  what  ? 

It  is  not  enough  that  a  man  be  a  good  mechanic,  or 
farmer,  or  even  physician,  lawyer,  or  teacher — his  educa- 
tion must  stand  or  fall  by  whether  he  is,  in  addition,  a 
man  of  catholic  spirit,  with  an  appreciation  of  the  higher 
and  better  things  of  life,  or  merely  first,  last,  and  all  the 
time,  a  servant  of  his  trade  or  profession.  Nature  has 
much  to  do  with  these  qualities;  but  it  is  submitted  that 
an  education  which  neglects  the  culture  element,  which 
fails  to  take  these  native  forces  and  to  polish  and  refine 
them  for  the  happiness  of  the  possessor,  and  for  the  service 
of  the  common  good,  by  reason  of  this  neglect  is  a  destroyer 
of  what  heaven  meant  for  a  blessing  to  society. 

Professional  training  is  a  necessity,  but  it  should  not 
be  so  coldly  professional,  should  not  so  severely  stress  the 
making  of  a  professional  out  of  the  man,  that  he  will  become 
not  more  than  a  mechanical  device,  that  he  will  fail  to 
become  a  full,  open-minded,  generous-hearted  man.  The 
training  of  the  man  should  have  the  first  place,  and  the 
training  for  a  livelihood  should  be  secondary. 

The  case  of  Darwin. — This  severe  application  to  the 
material,  to  the  exclusion  of  higher  things,  is  well  repre- 
sented in  a  statement  of  Charles  Darwin,  as  found  in  his 
autobiography: 


LATIN'S  SERVICE  IN  EDUCATION  AND  IN  LIFE      17 

Up  to  the  age  of  thirty  and  beyond  it,  poetry  of  many  kinds, 
such  as  the  works  of  Milton,  Gray,  Byron,  Wordsworth,  Coleridge, 
Shelley,  gave  me  great  delight,  and  even  as  a  schoolboy  I  took  intense 
delight  in  Shakespeare.  But  now  for  many  years  I  cannot  read  a 
line  of  poetry;  I  have  tried. to  read  Shakespeare,  and  found  it  so 
intolerably  dull  that  it  nauseated  me.  I  have  lost  my  taste  for  pic- 
tures, and  for  music.  My  mind  seems  to  have  become  a  kind  of 
machine  for  grinding  general  laws  out  of  a  large  collection  of  facts, 
but  why  this  should  have  caused  the  atrophy  of  that  part  of  the  brain 

on  which  the  higher  tastes  depend,  I  cannot  conceive The 

loss  of  these  tastes  is  a  loss  of  happiness,  and  may  possibly  be  injurious 
to  the  intellect,  and  more  probably  to  the  moral  character,  by  enfeeb- 
ling the  emotional  part  of  our  nature. 

On  this  Professor  Walter  Miller  says : 

If  Charles  Darwin  found  the  loss  of  his  higher  aesthetic  tastes 
so  lamentable,  how  much  more  lamentable  must  be  the  paralysis 
of  the  intellectual  power  when  this  exclusive  devotion  to  the  culti- 
vation of  one  side  of  the  intellectual  nature  begins  before  the  mind 
has  fairly  developed.  But  utilitarianism,  with  promises  of  material 
wealth,  is  ready  with  her  reply:  "Seek  ye  first  money;  culture  after 
wealth,"  and  technical  education  without  the  basis  of  broad  culture 
has  grown  and  spread  to  an  incredible  extent.  Said  President 
Butler:  "Its  essential  narrowness  and  philistinism  increase  with  its 
success  in  establishing  itself,  and  it  promises  for  a  long  time  to  come 
to  assert  its  overwhelming  ascendancy,  until  a  race  of  men  shall  come 
upon  the  stage  with  about  as  much  religion  as  a  threshing-machine, 
and  hardly  more  social  charm  than  a  storage  battery."1 

Mr.  Williams,  in  conclusion. — This  bearing  of  the 
classics  upon  the  larger  and  more  vital  phases  of  human 
life  can  hardly  be  presented  more  convincingly  than  in 
these  words,  taken  from  the  address  already  referred  to, 
of  Mr.  Williams  of  the  Indianapolis  News: 

It  does  make  a  difference,  a  very  great  and  momentous  difference, 
to  my  notion,  what  a  youth  studies  in  his  formative  and  impression- 

1  Southern  Educational  Review,  IV,  104. 


1 8  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

able  years.  He  is  to  gain  discipline,  he  is  to  win  mastery  over  him- 
self, to  learn  to  use  his  intellectual  powers;  but  if  he  can  attain  these 
necessary  ends  and  at  the  same  time  be  adding  vastly  to  his  spiritual 
resources,  to  the  comfort  of  his  soul,  to  the  joy  of  his  true  life  in  the 
years  to  come,  when  the  cares  and  responsibilities  and  distractions 
of  professional  and  business  activity  shall  absorb  his  time  and  energy, 
should  not  those  subjects  for  study  be  preferred  which  shall  enable 
him  most  easily  to  bring  about  these  most  desirable  results?  Let 
us  never  long  leave  out  of  our  thought  that  life  is  not  mere  getting 
and  spending,  mere  sowing  and  reaping,  mere  material  success,  of 
whatever  form.  That  is  only  the  basis  for  something  better  and 
higher  and  more  enduring. 

And  so,  especially  for  the  young  man  that  hopes  to  be  a  leader 
in  the  professional  and  business  life  of  the  time,  in  finance  and  affairs 
of  state — in  practical  life,  in  a  word — those  studies  are  to  be  preferred 
which  shall  make  him  more  a  man,  give  him  a  wider  outlook,  a  larger 
prospect  of  life,  quicken  his  power  of  vision,  enlarge  his  range  of 
sympathy  and  appreciation,  and  bring  him  into  the  fullest  conscious- 
ness of  the  sources  and  development  of  the  culture  we  enjoy.  .... 
It  makes  a  man  more  a  man,  the  more  he  knows  of  what  men  afore- 
time have  borne  and  done  and  thought.  The  most  practical  man, 
in  the  final  survey  o*f  human  life,  is  the  one  who  puts  the  emphasis  on 
man  and  not  on  practical;  who  is  never  too  absorbed  in  the  cares 
and  triumphs  .of  life  to  ask  himself  soberly  now  and  then:  "What 
shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own 
soul?" 


CHAPTER  III 
CLASSICAL  STUDIES  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE 

Searching  criticism  of  the  classics. — At  the  very  outset 
the  young  Latin  teacher  must  know  something  of  the  storm 
of  criticism  through  which  classical  studies  have  passed 
within  recent  years.  Many  strong  friends  of  the  classics 
have  had  their  confidence  shaken  not  a  little  by  the  bold 
opposition  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  rather  timid  reticence 
of  classical  teachers  on  the  other  hand.  However,  there 
have  been  strong  defenders  who  have  done  splendid  service 
in  the  cause  of  sane  education,  and  to  them  is  due,  in  no 
small  measure,  the  forceful  defense  which  eventually 
resulted  in  a  partial  victory.  In  order  that  young  teachers 
may  know  something  of  the  attacks  made  upon  classical 
studies  in  the  schools,  the  main  opponents  and  their  argu- 
ments are  here  noted,  and,  in  turn,  criticized: 

i.  Promoters  of  educational  fads. — The  faddist  has 
always  been  the  most  uncompromising  foe  of  Latin  and 
Greek.  He  has  an  idea  which  will  revolutionize  education, 
but  foolish  people  will  not  accept  it  immediately,  because 
they  are  busy  with  something  else!  If  they  would  only 
turn  from  these  dead  languages  and  take  his  fad  instead, 
the  world  would  blossom  as  the  rose ! 

Regular  attendants  at  public  educational  conventions 
look  for  "some  new  thing."  Just  how  these  faddists  and 
promoters  of  educational  piffle  invariably  manage  to  secure 
the  choice  places  on  the  programs  is  rather  hard  to  under- 
gtand.  They  are  always  on  hand,  and  always  they  turn 
their  little  guns  on  Latin  and  Greek.  They  say  about  the 

19 


20  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

worst  that  they  know  when  they  call  these  "dead  lan- 
guages'7 and  "the  fetish  of  fogyism."  These  men  are  sel- 
dom called  to  account.  In  fact,  it  is  very  rare  that  the 
friends  of  classical  learning  are  given  a  place  on  these 
programs. 

However,  fads  come  and  go,  but  Latin  abides.  Its 
very  presence  in  a  high  school  compels  good  standards  of 
scholarship  in  other  subjects  and  in  this  way  possibly  has 
helped  to  bring  disaster  to  the  various  fads.  Something 
has  had  this  effect,  for  anyone  who  will  count  up  the 
"dead  fads"  of  the  past  twenty-five  years  will  find  that 
their  name  is  legion. 

The  young  Latin  teacher  may  not  hope  to  convince  an 
extremist  of  this  kind.  The  best  one  can  do  is  to  counter- 
act, in  so  far  as  is  possible,  the  temporary  effect  of  such 
extremists. 

2.  Friends  of  the  newer  subjects. — What  is  said  above 
may  apply  here  with  equal  force,  in  many  instances.  Too 
often  those  who  would  urge  the  newer  subjects  on  our 
schools  seem  to  think  that  they  can  secure  a  place  only  by 
removing  Latin  from  the  list  of  studies  offered.  This  is 
not  a  very  wise  or  fair  proceeding.  Latin  teachers  and  the 
friends  of  the  classics  generally  are  as  firm  friends  of  the 
newer  subjects  as  are  their  most  earnest  promoters,  in  so 
far  as  they  have  proved  themselves  worthy  of  a  place  in  the 
curriculum.  Some,  as  for  instance,  in  the  domestic  and 
strictly  technical  arts,  have  done  this  excellently,  while 
others  are  still  in  the  experimental  stage  and  will  never 
get  beyond  it,  regardless  of  the  place  of  classical  studies 
or  anything  else.  Latin  has  sought  no  quarrel  even  with 
the  most  doubtful  of  the  newer  subjects.  Latin  teachers 
know  that  not  every  pupil  can  succeed  in  Latin  study. 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE  21 

Some  minds  are  best  adapted  to  strictly  technical  and 
manual  effort,  and  should  be  guided  in  that  direction. 
Such  subjects  should  have  fair  treatment,  but  this  does  not 
mean  that  Latin  should  quietly  submit  to  unfair  treatment. 

3.  Friends  of  the  modern  languages. — Some  years  ago, 
when  the  modern  languages  began  to  be  taken  seriously 
as  fit  subjects  for  the  high  schools,  some  controversy 
naturally  arose  between  the  defenders  of  the  modern  lan- 
guages and  those  of  the  classics,  which  were  in  a  measure 
displaced  in  favor  of  the  newer  languages.  This  has  prac- 
tically disappeared,  in  so  far  as  the  teachers  of  these  sub- 
jects are  concerned.  Now  and  then,  however,  someone 
brings  to  the  front  one  of  the  long-discarded  arguments 
for  displacing  the  classics  with  German  and  French,  and 
for  this  reason  these  arguments  must  be  examined. 

The  one  most  commonly  used,  and  the  least  understood, 
is  that  of  utility.  "  These  young  people  should  study 
German  and  French,  for  they  may  have  a  chance  to  use 
it  in  talking  with  the  natives."  To  state  an  argument 
in  this  way  is  to  expose  its  futility.  Perhaps  they  may, 
but  most  likely  they  will  not  have  any  need  to  talk  with 
native  Germans  and  Frenchmen.  Suppose  they  do,  then 
what  ?  Must  they  study  for  four  years  or  more  in  order 
to  be  able  to  talk  a  little,  and  badly,  with  a  native  who  gets 
keen  amusement  out  of  the  blunderers  ?  Invariably  such 
linguists  must  have  recourse  to  their  English  to  explain 
just  what  they  are  trying  to  say.  More  than  that,  it  is 
fair  to  say  that  outside  of  the  great  cities  not  one  high- 
school  student  in  ten  ever  thinks  of  trying  to  talk  in  a 
foreign  language,  even  if  he  has  a  chance.  If  he  needs  a 
frankfurter,  or  a  cheese,  or  something  else  from  a  store  kept 
by  a  foreigner,  he  calls  for  it  just  as  he  would  if  he  had 


22  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

never  heard  of  any  except  his  native  tongue.  Such 
"sprechen  Sie"  German  and  "  parlez- vous "  French  have 
no  established  educational  value. 

But  suppose  that  the  foreign  languages,  German  and 
French,  for  instance,  are  taught  primarily  with  a  view  to 
their  fluent  use.  What  is  achieved  then?  Cannot  the 
waiters  at  the  larger  hotels  speak  several  languages  under- 
standingly  ?  Are  they  to  be  counted  as  bright  particular 
stars  on  this  account  ?  If  we  are  making  the  conversational 
factor  of  prime  importance,  we  might  secure  more  satis- 
factory results  by  sending  our  young  men  and  young  women 
to  France  or  Germany  for  a  few  months,  for  this  is  practi- 
tically  the  only  way  to  get  a  conversational  grasp  of  a 
foreign  language. 

The  fact  is,  our  schools  do  not  turn  out  graduates  who 
have  a  working  knowledge  of  the  languages  which  they 
have  studied.  If  modern  languages  are  a  utility  only  in  so 
far  as  they  are  spoken  by  those  who  study  them,  they  are 
a  failure.  For  many  years  they  have  had  a  choice  place  in 
the  school  curriculum,  and,  except  for  a  few  short  sentences, 
those  who  have  studied  German  and  French  know  no  more 
of  them  as  conversational  languages  than  Latin  pupils 
know  of  conversational  Latin.  Let  the  reader  make  a  test 
of  the  people  who  were  in  school  with  him  and  studied  the 
modern  languages  while  he  studied  Latin. 

However,  modern-language  teachers  do  not  now  stress 
the  conversational  factor  to  any  large  extent.  They  are 
gradually  approaching  the  methods  long  used  in  teaching 
ancient  languages,  that  is,  striving  to  train  the  language- 
sense,  to  secure  accuracy  in  expression  and  interpretation, 
to  awaken  sympathy  with  what  is  best  in  the  world's  store 
of  learning,  art,  and  literature,  and  to  develop  in  the  student 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE  23 

a  feeling  of  "  at-homeness  "  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  best 
thought  and  endeavor  of  all  the  ages.  As  these  purposes 
become  established,  the  very  question  of  conversational 
language  is  lost  from  the  reckoning.  Whether  these  ends 
can  be  secured  better  by  using  one  of  the  two  ancient 
languages,  or  one  of  the  main  modern  languages,  may  be 
left  for  others  to  decide.  The  evidence  in  favor  of  the 
classics  seems  overwhelming. 

From  this  it  is  plain  that  modern-language  teaching  is 
not  very  different  from  ancient-language  teaching.  If  we 
may  believe  the  evidence  furnished  by  Professor  W.  R. 
Price,  state  inspector  of  modern  languages  in  New  York, 
given  in  the  School  Review,  XXII,  98-102,  many  of  those 
who  teach  modern  languages  in  the  high  schools  are  poorly 
prepared  indeed. 

The  interests  of  the  ancient  and  the  modern  languages 
are  very  similar,  in  fact  identical.  If  the  philistine  could 
drive  Latin  out  of  the  schools,  German  and  French  would 
go  out  early  the  next  day  thereafter.  Latin  teachers  should 
recognize  the  value  of  modern  languages  and  should 
encourage  those  pupils  with  whom  they  have  influence  to 
get  all  the  German  and  French  for  which  they  can  find  time. 

4.  Friends  of  the  sciences. — The  situation  of  the  sciences 
is  much  like  that  of  the  modern  languages.  Some  few 
friends  of  the  sciences,  especially  teachers  whose  own 
training  has  been  narrow  and  has  limited  their  vision,  have 
even  advocated  violent  measures.  They  have  urged  that 
the  classics  be  cast  out  entirely,  and  that  the  work  of 
educating  the  young  be  handed  over  to  them.  To  their 
thinking,  utility  is  the  end  of  education,  and  their  state- 
ment of  the  case  of  the  classics  shows  these  subjects  to  be 
worse  than  useless.  Latin  is  not  in  the  group  of  utility 


24  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

subjects,  nor  is  anything  else  which  is  not  immediately 
serviceable  in  making  a  living! 

We  were  told  that  the  sciences  were  utility  subjects. 
The  public  accepted  the  arguments,  and,  while  Latin  was 
not  removed  from  the  schools,  large  room  was  made  for 
the  sciences.  Large  sums  of  money  were  devoted  to  science 
departments,  fine  laboratories  were  equipped,  and  every 
demand  made  by  the  teachers  had  a  very  friendly  hearing. 
That  science  teaching  has  been  of  great  service  in  the  high 
schools,  within  recent  years,  we  are  all  glad  to  acknowledge. 
That  it  has  done  all  the  wonderful  things  which  were 
promised,  no  one  believes;  that  science  in  the  high  schools 
has  proved  a  utility — the  great  service  which  was  promised 
—is  wholly  without  any  foundation. 

In  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  the  sciences  are  a  utility 
only  to  those  who  work  along  applied  lines,  and  thus  keep 
step  with  the  advances  and  changing  theories  of  the  author- 
ities. As  a  test  of  this  statement,  let  the  man  who  studied 
physics  or  chemistry  thirty  years  ago  compare  his  old  text 
with  a  recent  text  on  that  subject.  His  old  text  is  out  of 
date,  utterly  absurd,  and  even  dangerous.  The  science 
of  thirty  years  ago,  or  of  twenty,  or  even  of  ten,  is  a  "dead 
science/7  and  no  language  ever  looked  so  dead  as  does 
"dead  science." 

In  actual  school  work,  science  has  as  many  shortcomings 
as  Latin  or  anything  else.  High-school  pupils  are  not 
proving  themselves  active  or  efficient  investigators.  Gen- 
erally they  do  the  required  work  in  just  as  dull  and  heavy 
a  way  as  they  study  their  foreign  language.  In  too  many 
cases,  they  work  for  credit  toward  graduation  and  think 
very  little  about  original  investigation.  The  danger  of 
relying  too  largely  upon  the  sciences  as  educational  instru- 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE  25 

ments  in  the  high  schools  is  well  set  forth  in  the  following 
passage  from  an  address  by  Professor  E.  A.  Hayden: 

Laboratory  experiments  multiplied  beyond  all  reason;  labora- 
tory manuals  so  minute  in  their  specifications  that  no  place  is  left 
to  the  student  for  that  effort  and  rumination  which  is  indispensable 
to  the  growth  of  strong  mental  tissue;  inadequate  mathematical 
preparation  for  physics  that  makes  the  subject  largely  a  juggling 
of  apparatus  and  mechanical  application  of  predigested  formulae 
to  concrete  data;  geometry  boiled  down  until  its  real  essence  and 
spirit — the  intuitive  apprehension  of  spatial  magnitudes — is  com- 
pletely volatilized — these  are  a  few  of  the  results  of  this  feverish 
passion  for  obvious  external  results.  Mere  activity,  mere  busyness 
that  expends  itself  in  tinkering  with  an  infinitude  of  trifling  details, 
is  a  sheer  waste  of  time  and  energy. 

Reference  may  be  made  here,  with  great  timeliness, 
to  an  experience  in  the  history  of  education  in  Germany. 
In  1870  the  German  government  asked  the  University  of 
Berlin  to  consider  the  admission  of  graduates  of  the 
Realschule  to  the  university  on  equal  terms  with  those  of 
the  Gymnasium,  whose  training  is  based  largely  on  the 
classics,  indicating  in  this  request  that  the  Realschule 
afforded  an  equivalent  preparation  for  advanced  study. 
The  philosophical  faculty  replied — 

that  the  non-classical  training  is  incapable  of  furnishing  a  preparation 
for  academic  studies  equal  to  that  afforded  by  classical  training; 
that  all  efforts  to  find  a  substitute  for  the  classical  languages,  whether 
in  mathematics,  or  in  the  modern  languages,  or  in  the  natural  sciences, 
have  hitherto  been  unsuccessful;  that  after  long  and  vain  search 
we  must  come  back  finally  to  the  result  of  centuries  of  experience,  that 
the  surest  instrument  that  can  be  used  in  the  training  of  the  minds 
of  the  youth  is  given  to  us  in  the  languages,  the  literature,  and  the 
works  of  art  of  classical  antiquity. 

In  spite  of  this,  the  government  opened  up  the  univer- 
sities to"  the  graduates  of  these  technical  high  schools. 


26  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

After  ten  years  of  experimenting,  the  entire  faculty, 
professors  of  natural  and  physical  sciences  included, 
declared  that  in  spite  of  the  start  gained  in  scientific  study 
by  the  graduates  of  the  technical  schools,  they  were  speedily 
overtaken  by  the  graduates  of  the  classical  institutions, 
and  left  in  the  rear.  The  entire  faculty  petitioned  the 
government  to  repeal  its  decree  and  to  admit  to  the  uni- 
versity only  such  students  as  had  received  the  training  of 
the  classics,  as  the  only  adequate  training  for  university 
study.  On  this  petition  were  the  names  of  Liebig,  Helm- 
holtz,  Hoffmann,  Rammelsberg,  Mommsen,  Curtius,  and 
others  of  equal  fame.1 

From  this  discussion  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  the 
writer  is  opposed  to  the  teaching  of  the  sciences  in  our 
schools.  He  believes  most  strongly  in  these  subjects  as 
educational  instruments.  Notwithstanding  all  that  has 
been  said  about  the  possibilities  of  science  instruction,  the 
results  seem  to  fall  very  far  short.  The  sciences  should 
hold  a  place  in  the  high-school  course,  and  our  young 
people  should  study  science,  utility  or  no  utility.  No  one 
can  pretend  to  have  an  education  who  does  not  know 
something  of  science,  but  he  must  be  prepared  to  unlearn 
it  every  few  years,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case. 

The  teachers  of  Latin  are  as  good  friends  of  the  sciences 
as  can  be  found,  notwithstanding  the  effort  to  alienate 
them.  For  a  kind  of  training  which  is  essential,  that  which 
leads  to  habits  of  investigation  and  patient  searching  after 
facts  in  a  given  case  and  of  following  them  to  their  definite 
conclusion,  the  sciences  when  properly  taught  have  a 
place  that  nothing  else  can  fill.  When  it  comes  to  training 
in  chaste  and  accurate  expression  of  the  facts  ascertained, 

1  Miller,  Southern  Educational  Review,  IV,  100. 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE  27 

the  sciences  can  do  very  little,  and  must  give  this  task 
over  to  subjects  which  are  known  to  secure  this  very  result. 

Both  the  sciences  and  the  foreign  languages  have  fields 
ready  at  hand,  with  work  rather  definitely  outlined. 
Students  in  the  classics  should  be  encouraged  to  get  all 
the  science  courses  possible,  and  teachers  of  the  sciences 
who  are  thinking  of  the  interests  of  their  pupils,  rather  than 
of  petty  wrangles  about  the  utility  of  science,  will  urge  upon 
their  classes  the  claims  of  the  languages,  ancient  and 
modern. 

5.  Other  objections. — 

a)  "A  waste  of  time":  This  is  an  objection  which  can 
be  made  only  by  those  who  do  not  know  what  is  done  by 
the  various  subjects  taught  in  the  schools,  and  it  holds 
about  as  well  against  one  subject  as  another.  Reducing  the 
matter  to  the  last  word,  we  all  know  that  men  have  lived  and 
done  well  without  knowing  anything  about  Latin,  as  they 
have  done  without  a  knowledge  of  grammar,  arithmetic, 
algebra,  geometry,  or  even  of  reading  and  writing.  This  is, 
however,  very  poor  evidence  to  show  that  they  would  not 
have  done  better  if  they  had  learned  these  things  at  the 
right  time.  In  fact,  if  we  take  out  all  the  subjects  which 
may  seem  unnecessary,  that  is,  which  have  no  direct  bearing 
on  making  a  living,  and  then  take  from  the  others  the  parts 
which  arp  of  no  practical  use,  we  shall  have  very  little  left. 
Take  mathematics,  for  instance.  The  average  business  man 
has  little  use  for  anything  beyond  simple  arithmetic,  and  no 
use  for  much  of  that.  If  he  buys,  the  seller  furnishes  the 
figures  by  which  he  must  pay,  and  even  he  uses  a  form  book 
in  which  the  prices  are  all  worked  out.  If  he  sells,  he  uses 
the  ready-made  tables.  If  he  goes  to  the  bank,  the  cashier 
turns  to  his  form  book  and  the  transaction  is  completed. 


28  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

His  adding  is  done  by  a  machine,  and  his  dictaphone  and 
typewriter  remove  the  necessity  of  his  knowing  anything 
more  than  how  and  where  to  stamp  his  name  with  a  rubber 
stamp.  What  need  then  has  the  average  business  man 
for  difficult  arithmetic,  or  algebra,  or  plane  or  solid  geom- 
etry, to  say  nothing  of  higher  mathematics  ?  More  than 
this,  one  of  the  great  civil  engineers  of  the  country  recently 
stated  that  he  had  gone  over  his  old  texts  in  mathematics 
to  find  out  just  how  much  of  the  mathematics  he  studied 
in  school  had  been  used  in  his  actual  experience  as  head  of 
the  engineering  department  of  one  of  the  great  railway 
systems.  He  made  the  amazing  statement  that  every- 
thing he  had  used,  of  all  the  mathematics  he  had  studied, 
could  be  given  in  a  booklet  of  about  twenty-four  pages.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  he  could  have  grasped  and  retained 
this  essential  knowledge  without  the  training  he  had 
received  in  dealing  with  what  he  considers  the  nonessential 
part.  His  feeling  that  he  could  have  done  so  makes  his 
contribution  all  the  more  interesting. 

This  reasoning  holds  of  other  subjects,  such  as  physics, 
chemistry,  history,  English,  geography,  and  the  like.  We 
may  as  well  understand  that  there  is  no  intention,  in  any 
sane  educational  system,  of  cramming  into  a  pupil  the  few 
data  necessary  for  earning  a  livelihood.  This  is  not  the 
great  task  of  the  schools.  One  needs  a  trained  mind  in 
order  to  be  able  to  make  intelligent  use  of  these  rules, 
tables,  and  similar  data;  and  to  give  this  trained  mind, 
we  have  found  nothing  better  suited  than  mathematics, 
physics,  chemistry,  and  the  like. 

Latin  does  require  time,  but  the  time  is  not  wasted. 
Education  is  a  growth,  not  a  list  of  tables  and  schedules. 
Time  is  necessary,  and  it  is  the  task  of  the  educator  to 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE  29 

plan  for  the  use  of  this  time  so  as  to  secure  the  best  results 
in  trained  efficiency.  The  time  element  must  have  fair 
consideration  in  any  educational  scheme. 

Young  America,  they  tell  us,  is  in  a  hurry,  and  he  wants 
a  short  route  to  the  educational  goal.  He  does  not  object 
especially  to  an  education  if  he  can  get  it  on  the  run  and 
painlessly.  Even  good  business  men  scold  the  schools  for 
holding  young  men  so  long,  while  electricity  and  flying- 
machines  are  moving  things  in  terms  of  miles  in  place  of  the 
rods  of  other  days.  Sane  education  recognizes  the  fact 
that  while  some  things  have  surpassed  the  rate  of  progress 
of  a  hundred  years  ago,  still  seedtime  and  harvest  are  now 
just  as  far  apart  as  they  were  in  the  leisurely  days  of  old 
Methuselah,  the  seasons  are  the  same,  and  the  period  of 
physical  development  is  the  same.  Some  processes  cannot 
be  hastened  without  great  loss.  Mental  processes,  mental 
development  require  time,  time,  time,  and  there  is  no 
escape  from  the  fact.  It  has  been  well  said  that  when  the 
Almighty  wants  to  make  a  gourd  he  needs  but  a  few  days 
or  weeks,  but  when  he  wants  the  giant  oak  of  the  forest 
he  needs  years  and  even  centuries.  It  takes  more  time  to 
educate  the  whole  man  than  it  does  merely  to  train  the  hand 
to  move  accurately  through  space  and  to  do  its  mechanical 
duty.  But  the  whole  man  when  educated  is  not  dependent 
for  life's  enjoyment  upon  any  outside  world ;  he  has  a  world, 
he  is  a  world  of  himself,  and  stands,  of  all  creation,  nearest 
in  kind  to  his  Maker. 

Dean  Bagley,  of  the  University  of  Illinois,  has  well  said: 

Another  insidious  notion  is  that  what  we  call  general  or  liberal 
education  is  needed  only  by  those  who  are  going  into  the  professions ; 
that  workers  in  the  industrial,  agricultural,  and  commercial  fields 
do  not  need  the  kind  of  culture  that  the  general  and  liberal  work  of 


30  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  and  the  high  school  is  supposed  to 
represent — that  instruction  in  history,  in  geography,  in  literature,  is 
really  vocational  educational,  preparing  for  the  "white-collar" 
occupations.  And  so  we  have  the  proposals  for  differentiated  courses 
in  history,  and  we  have  proposals  for  even  experiments  in  the  teach- 
ing of  English  which  would  relegate  the  great  masterpieces  to  the 
white-collar  pupils,  and  feed  those  destined  for  other  callings 
on  the  inspiring  contents  of  poultry  bulletins  and  mail-order 
catalogues 

Most  of  those  who  advocate  early  vocational  differentiation  are 
not  thinking  of  their  own  children.  Of  course  a  broad  and  liberal 
training  is  presupposed  for  them.  These  opportunities  for  early 
vocational  choices  are  for  other  people's  children 

In  the  last  analysis,  the  efficiency  of  our  educational  system  de- 
pends upon  the  capacity  of  our  boys  and  girls  to  do  "hard,  uncoaxed, 
uncomplimented  work  willingly  and  heartily."  .... 

In  our  educational  theory  we  have  certainly  gone  too  far,  and 
educational  practice  has  gone  about  as  far  as  it  is  safe  to  venture 
without  a  counteracting  movement.  In  my  opinion,  the  time  is 
ripe  for  a  little  tincture  of  iron  in  our  educational  philosophy;  for  a 
touch  of  a  more  virile  idealism ;  for  a  renaissance  of  thoroughness  and 
a  reasonable  measure  of  rigor;  for  something  approaching  a  revival  of 
the  ideals  of  duty  and  effort.1 

6)  "The  task  and  the  returns  are  out  of  proportion": 
That  depends  on  the  point  of  view  and  the  general  attitude 
of  the  person  interested.  Latin  does  require  good  hard 
work,  but  that  is  one  of  its  strongest  points  in  a  schedule 
of  studies.  A  disposition  to  substitute  easy,  namby- 
pamby  subjects  for  those  which  require  hard,  persistent 
effort  is  unfortunately  gaining  support,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  this  kind  of  school  work  will  certainly  turn 
out  a  crude  and  namby-pamby  product.  Some  pupils 
clamor  for  the  easy,  predigested  material,  but  the  majority 

1  From  an  address  delivered  at  the  Detroit  meeting  of  the  Department  of 
Superintendence  of  the  National  Education  Association,  1916. 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE  31 

of  those  who  complete  the  high-school  course  recognize  the 
importance  of  hard  work  and  are  willing  to  apply  themselves 
to  it. 

For  real  education  there  is  no  hope  short  of  hard  and 
unremitting  effort.  The  way  to  scholarship  is  rugged 
and  steep.  Any  promise  of  culture  that  is  not  based 
upon  hard  work  is  a  snare  and  a  delusion.  There  is  no 
education  that  is  worth  while  which  does  not  demand 
patient,  determined,  ceaseless  endeavor,  coupled  with  a 
persistent  concentration  of  all  the  mental  powers  upon 
the  task  in  hand.  Few  subjects  so  completely  require 
this  sustained  effort  as  does  Latin,  and  few  give  in 
return  such  generous  rewards  when  the  work  is  over. 
An  evidence  of  this  is  seen  in  the  long-continued  service 
it  has  rendered  to  the  cause  of  education  in  the  centuries 
past,  and  in  the  strong  and  abiding  faith  of  the  world's 
great  scholars  in  Latin  as  an  effective  agent  in  their  own 
education. 

c)  "One  subject  is  as  good  as  another,  and  Latin  is  no 
exception":  It  has  been  boldly  argued  that  one  subject  is 
just  as  good  as  another;  that  no  matter  what  one  studies, 
it  all  amounts  to  the  same,  just  so  that  he  is  studying. 
This  is  brother  to  the  idea,  equally  sane  and  balanced,  that 
no  matter  what  one  eats,  it  is  all  the  same,  just  so  that  he  is 
eating.  Physical  disaster  in  the  one  case  is  no  more  certain 
and  sure  than  is  mental  disaster  in  the  other. 

In  addition  to  what  we  have  said  about  unrestricted 
election,  it  is  in  place  to  say  that  there  are  sane  and  sensible 
means  which  are  known  to  be  capable  of  producing  desirable 
ends  in  education.  As  the  prospective  dentist  has  little 
to  hope  for  from  a  study  of  submarine  navigation,  and  ought 
not  to  feel  that  this  study  could  serve  his  purpose,  so  one 


32  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

who  is  seeking  for  a  well-developed  mind,  a  well-rounded 
education  ought  not  to  hope  that  he  can  reach  his  end  by 
the  use  of  means  which  common-sense  wholly  rejects. 
What  he  needs  is  such  subjects  and  in  such  combinations 
as  will  in  a  given  time  evenly  develop  the  mental  powers 
with  which  he  is  endowed;  and  he  should  strenuously  avoid 
such  subjects  and  such  combinations  as  will,  in  the  light 
of  human  reason,  defeat  his  purpose.  Common-sense  and 
common  utility  demand  that  his  main  dependence  should 
be  upon  subjects  that  have  been  tested,  that  have  a  litera- 
ture of  permanent  value,  and  that  are  available  in  a  suffi- 
ciently organized  and  usable  form  for  the  purpose  in  hand. 
There  are  some  subjects  which  never  can  have  any  genuine 
literature  of  their  own,  and  consequently  have  no  possi- 
bility of  taking  a  permanent  place  in  education.  Some 
of  these  are  valuable  arts  in  themselves,  and  we  cannot 
get  along  without  them;  but  they  offer  nothing  in  the  way 
of  mental  development,  other  than  in  the  little  of  theory 
which  lies  back  of  them,  and  in  the  concentration  necessary 
until  reflex  action  has  taken  hold  of  the  situation.  Other- 
wise our  cotton  mills,  sweatshops,  and  bakeries  would  be 
ranked  as  great  universities  and  centers  of  human  learning. 
Skill  is  one  thing  and  entirely  different  from  culture  and 
real  education. 

d)  "I  studied  Latin  and  have  forgotten  all  about  it": 
Every  now  and  then  this  man  shows  up.  He  studied  Latin 
of  course,  but  of  course  he  forgot  it.  He  is  ready  to  give 
a  good  account  of  his  other  subjects,  if  we  may  follow  out 
his  suggestion.  His  mathematics,  chemistry,  history, 
physics — all  these  and  more  he  remembers !  Generally,  the 
man  who  talks  in  this  fashion  suffered  from  a  poor  teacher 
or  was  himself  a  very  indifferent  student — possibly  both 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE 


explanations  apply.  His  very  complaint  is  in  fact  a  lament, 
as  is  well  stated  by  Professor  Shorey.1 

It  has  been  said  of  the  most  polished  writer  in  America 
that  his  matchless  style  is  "the  product  of  forgotten  toil.7' 
The  man  who  would  undertake  to  say  that  his  Latin  study 
did  not  do  him  a  large  service,  simply  because  he  cannot 
recall  any  of  the  lines  of  the  texts  he  read,  certainly  has 
small  claim  on  our  consideration.  He  is  simply  hunting 
for  an  argument  where  there  is  none. 

The  situation  less  disturbed  of  late.  —  In  another  place 
it  has  been  stated  that  less  is  now  said  against  the  classics 
than  formerly,  but  the  foregoing  still  represent  the  stock 
arguments  which  have  been  urged.  There  may  be  more 
complete  answers  than  those  offered,  but  even  these  seem 
fairly  satisfactory.  A  reason  for  the  comparative  quiet 
may  be  the  fact  that  the  monopoly  which  Latin  was  accused 
of  holding  has  been  surrendered,  or  else  broken  up,  so 
that  in  all  the  high  schools  pupils  may  take  a  substitute 
if  they  wish. 

Controversy  not  desirable.  —  Latin  teachers  of  high- 
school  grade  are  generally  timid  about  undertaking  a 
defense  of  the  classics  when  they  are  assailed,  and  this  is 
natural,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  they  are  not  often  in  full 
possession  of  the  facts.  However,  some  of  the  data  given 
in  this  book,  such  as  the  statistics,  may  serve  a  good 
purpose  and  silence  agitators  when  debate  would  be  useless. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  high-school  teachers  naturally 
look  to  the  professors  in  the  colleges  and  universities  to 
investigate  the  situation  and  to  secure  the  facts  which  will 
enable  them  to  answer  the  educational  "  experts"  and 
others  who  now  and  then  offer  public  objection  to  the 

1  Latin  and  Greek  in  American  Education,  pp.  303  f  . 


34  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

classics.  At  least  three  of  the  great  universities,  through 
their  classical  faculties,  have  done  most  valuable  work  of 
this  kind.  It  is  hoped  that  others  will  become  equally 
active,  for  they  cannot  afford  to  be  silent  while  educational 
leadership  is  taken  over  by  those  who  would  carry  out  a 
program  which  is  both  revolutionary  and  destructive. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  SUBJECT 

Select  your  subject. — The  high  schools  of  this  country 
are  commonly  so  organized  that  teachers  are  employed  to 
teach  one  or  two  of  the  subjects  offered  in  the  course  of 
study,  rather  than  all  the  subjects  of  a  grade  or  year. 
This  arrangement  encourages  special  preparation  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher  and  should  secure  for  the  school  a  high 
grade  of  service.  It  is  therefore  of  the  largest  importance 
that  the  prospective  teacher  decide  as  early  as  possible 
on  the  subject  or  subjects  which  appeal  to  him  most 
strongly  and  which  he  thinks  he  can  teach  most  effec- 
tively. Frequently  those  who  look  forward  to  teaching 
find  it  necessary  to  defer  this  decision  until  after  they 
have  taught  for  awhile  and  have  had  time  to  make  up 
their  minds  definitely.  In  such  cases,  the  delay  cannot 
be  avoided,  but  the  pupils  taught  by  a  hesitating  teacher 
and  the  subjects  used  in  his  experiments  will  necessarily 
suffer. 

Who  should  teach  a  foreign  language  ? — In  making  his 
selection  from  the  number  of  subjects  taught  in  the  high 
schools,  several  considerations  must  have  due  weight. 
A  slow,  hesitating  young  man,  if  he  teaches  at  all,  should 
not  undertake  foreign-language  teaching,  in  which  quick- 
ness of  thought  and  expression  are  absolutely  necessary. 
Also,  one  who  has  found  foreign  languages  a  difficult  study 
and  has  made  unsatisfactory  progress  in  this  kind  of  work 
should  not  feel  called  upon  to  teach  a  foreign  language , 
Latin  in  particular,  in  later  years. 

35 


36  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

Many  young  people  are  blessed  with  what  teachers 
like  to  call  "the  language  sense/'  "a  feeling  for  language/' 
which  may  mean  that  they  naturally  think  quickly  and 
connectedly  and  have  a  memory  which  retains  readily  and 
permanently.  Young  teachers  who  have  this  advantage, 
and  with  it  a  " genius  for  hard  work/'  have  the  natural  quali- 
fications which  make  the  successful  teacher  of  Latin. 
Many  who  are  only  moderately  endowed  in  these  particulars 
achieve  great  things  as  teachers,  by  vigorous  effort  and 
close  application — a  fact  which  offers  encouragement  to 
those  who  are  willing  to  pay  the  price  in  persistent 
endeavor. 

The  study  of  Latin  and  other  foreign  languages  will 
prove  helpful  to  those  who  are  slow  in  language  work,  but 
if  such  students  ever  turn  to  teaching  they  should  seek 
subjects  which  more  readily  adapt  themselves  to  their  own 
mental  aptitude.  They  may  have  some  strength  in  close 
and  careful  reasoning,  in  industrious  pursuit  of  details,  in 
manual  dexterity,  and  these  qualities  may  possibly  be 
turned  to  good  account  in  teaching  one  or  more  of  the 
sciences.  However,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  a  slow  student 
should  not  be  encouraged  to  think  that  the  world  needs  his 
services  in  the  capacity  of  a  teacher. 

Hard  work  will  achieve  wonders,  especially  if  there  is  a 
strong  personality  back  of  the  effort.  To  achieve  the  best 
results,  the  teacher  must  be  happy  in  his  work.  To  be 
happy,  he  must  have  the  subject  which  suits  him  best, 
which  fits  in  best  with  his  natural  inclination  and  thus  calls 
out  the  best  that  is  in  him.  For  one  who  likes  Latin  as  a 
subject,  and  likes  to  teach  it,  likes  to  use  it  as  an  educational 
instrument,  nothing  else  can  quite  take  its  place  or  so  com- 
pletely occupy  his  "mind,  soul,  and  strength." 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  SUBJECT  37 

Believe  in  your  subject. — No  matter  what  his  natural 
bent,  or  his  training,  the  Latin  teacher  cannot  do  his  best 
work  unless  he  has  a  fixed  faith  in  the  efficiency  of  his  sub- 
ject as  a  means  to  an  end.  One  who  tries  to  teach  any 
subject  in  a  half-hearted  way  is  doing  a  positive  wrong  to 
those  who  are  unfortunate  enough  to  be  forced  to  suffer 
at  his  hands.  The  young  Latin  teacher  should  make  an 
investigation  into  the  facts  of  the  case  and  know  what  has 
been  accomplished  by  Latin  in  the  centuries  past  and  what 
is  now  being  done.  In  addition  to  this,  he  should  watch 
the  work  of  his  own  classes  with  a  view  to  building  up  his 
faith  in  the  effectiveness  of  Latin  in  his  own  hands.  A 
Latin  teacher  who  knows  what  he  is  expected  to  do  with 
Latin,  and  knows  that  he  can  do  that  very  thing,  is  bound 
to  secure  the  best  results  possible. 

School  officers  careless. — Occasionally  conditions  are 
met  with  in  which  the  preferences  and  special  fitness  of  the 
teachers  do  not  determine  assignments,  as  when  school 
officers  allow  family  connection  and  political  alignments 
to  influence,  to  some  extent,  their  choice  of  teachers.  In  a 
group  of  teachers  elected  thus  and  turned  over  to  the  prin- 
cipal for  assignments,  there  may  be  no  one  who  is  prepared 
to  do  good  work  in  Latin.  Teachers  who  depend  upon 
local  influence  for  appointments  are  not  the  kind  who  make 
preparation  for  teaching  anything  in  particular,  Latin 
least  of  all.  The  teacher  who  has  Latin  thus  thrust  upon 
him,  despite  his  utter  unpreparedness  for  teaching  it,  is 
likely  to  become  rebellious,  and  his  attitude  will  add  greatly 
to  the  burdens  of  Latin.  Parents  and  pupils  naturally  con- 
nect the  subject  and  the  teacher,  every  weakness  of  the 
teacher  being  placed  to  the  account  of  the  subject  which  he 
teaches. 


38  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

Under  such  circumstances  Latin  is  helpless.  Some 
subjects  are  self-protecting  and  warn  off  intruders.  Chem- 
istry, for  instance,  if  tampered,  with,  may  explode  and 
blow  embodied  ignorance  through  the  roof.  Latin  has 
no  such  protection,  and  its  only  hope  is  that  when  it  is 
thus  burdened  some  bright  pupils  will  take  hold  of  the 
situation  and  hold  the  class  together.  Otherwise  the  time 
of  the  class  is  wasted. 

This  is  an  extreme  condition  and  ought  not  to  be  possible 
anywhere,  but  those  who  know  the  weaker  high  schools 
know  to  what  extent  nepotism  and  politics  have  operated 
in  keeping  them  weak. 

Teachers  sometimes  at  fault. — It  happens  all  too 
frequently  that  teachers  accept  positions  in  the  high  schools 
for  which  they  are  not  properly  prepared.  Latin  has 
suffered  in  this  particular.  No  one  should  undertake  to 
teach  the  usual  four  years  of  Latin  who  has  not  done  at 
least  that  amount  of  work  under  a  competent  teacher.  No 
high  school  should  employ  for  this  work  any  teacher  who 
has  not  had  some  college  Latin,  in  addition  to  the  four  years 
in  the  high  school.  This  reasonable  minimum  is  not  always 
adhered  to.  Other  subjects  suffer  as  well,  possibly  to  an 
even  greater  extent  than  Latin  does,  and  there  should  be 
some  protection  against  mistakes  of  this  kind. 

Latin  teachers  needed. — Now  and  then  schools  which 
offer  Latin  cannot  get  well-trained  teachers  and  are  forced 
to  make  way  for  incompetent  teachers,  or  else  to  leave  out 
Latin  for  the  time  being.  The  latter  course  is  decidedly 
preferable  to  using  a  teacher  who  does  not  know  the  subject 
and  consequently  cannot  teach  it.  There  is  always  a 
strong  demand  for  high-school  teachers  who  are  able  to 
teach  Latin  in  such  a  way  as  to  get  results,  and  those  who 


THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  SUBJECT  39 

are  looking  toward  teaching  as  a  life-work  may  safely 
prepare  themselves  for  teaching  this  subject,  provided  they 
have  the  qualifications  which  have  been  mentioned  as 
furnishing  a  basis  for  Latin  teaching.  The  young  teacher 
who  takes  Latin  as  his  main  subject  should  also  prepare 
himself  to  teach  one  other  subject  that  may  readily  be 
related  to  Latin,  such  as  German,  or  French,  or  history 
or  possibly  English,  according  to  his  preferences.  As 
stated  above,  many  high  schools  require  a  teacher  to  take 
more  than  one  branch  of  learning,  and  such  a  combination 
will  prove  a  safe  investment  of  money  and  of  strength. 

Push  the  Latin,  but  be  fair. — Circumstances  of  late 
years  have  made  it  almost  necessary  for  the  young  Latin 
teacher  to  push  his  work  rather  vigorously,  in  order  to 
prevent  unfair  discrimination.  This  is  not  true  of  all  high 
schools,  but  of  those  in  some  sections  only.  The  Latin 
teacher  must  see  that  the  work  for  which  he  is  responsible 
does  not  suffer,  but  there  is  danger  that  in  his  efforts  he 
may  become  rather  intolerant  toward  other  subjects, 
especially  toward  those  whose  supporters  frequently 
declaim  against  Latin  study.  He  must  be  on  his  guard 
against  this  narrowness,  for  he  might  prove  little  better  than 
the  faddist,  of  whom  nothing  but  intolerance  and  narrow- 
ness need  be  expected.  The  Latin  teacher  must  do  high- 
grade  work  in  his  own  department  and  see  to  it  that  his 
pupils  get  the  best  that  is  in  him;  but  he  must  be  fair  to 
all  other  subjects  and  to  the  teachers  of  these,  and  must 
show  just  appreciation  of  the  work  done  in  all  the  other 
departments.  Latin  cannot  do  the  whole  work  of  educa- 
tion; it  must  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  every  other 
subject  which  can  be  used  in  the  task  of  educating  young 
men  and  young  women. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  TRAINING  OF  THE  LATIN  TEACHER 

Prepare  to  teach  the   subject  you  have   selected.— 

After  the  young  teacher  has  selected  his  subject,  it  becomes 
his  duty  to  prepare  himself  as  thoroughly  as  he  can  for  the 
work  he  is  to  do.  He  is  especially  fortunate  if  he  can  make 
his  decision  early  in  his  college  course. 

Latin  teachers  must  know  Latin.— In  some  subjects  a 
teacher  may  be  able  to  keep  up  appearances  without 
knowing  very  much  about  his  work,  but  Latin  is  not  one 
of  these.  The  teacher  either  knows  Latin  or  does  not,  and 
the  weakest  pupil  in  his  class  will  not  be  long  in  finding  out 
the  truth.  A  knowledge  of  the  language  and  literature  is 
an  absolute  necessity,  and  there  is  no  way  of  dodging  this 
demand.  Efforts  at  teaching  Latin  without  a  sufficient 
knowledge  invariably  bring  confusion  and  disaster,  as 
many  a  teacher  can  testify.  While  yet  in  college,  the  young 
teacher  should  take  every  course  in  Latin  that  he  can,  and 
should  get  as  much  Greek  as  he  can  find  time  for,  as  Greek 
is  an  essential  factor  in  good  Latin  teaching. 

Latin  teachers  must  know  how  to  teach  Latin. — In 
addition  to  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  subject-matter, 
it  is  important  to  be  able  to  teach  it  in  an  effective  manner. 
Very  few  are  "born  teachers";  most  of  those  who  imagine 
that  they  are  have  little  evidence  to  back  their  claims. 
The  great  majority  may  do  fairly  well  at  first,  if  they  know 
the  subject,  but  their  teaching  is  largely  experimental, 
until,  after  much  experience,  they  find  the  best  ways  and 
means  of  teaching.  There  is  no  good  reason,  however, 

40 


TRAINING  OF  THE  LATIN  TEACHER  41 

why  the  right  training  beforehand  should  not  shorten  the 
period  of  experimenting  and  fit  them  for  satisfactory  work 
from  the  start. 

Professor  Bennett's  caution. — The  following  caution 
against  emphasizing  " method"  is  offered  by  Professor 
Bennett: 

I  have  elsewhere  called  attention  to  what  seems  to  me  a  dangerous 
inference,  likely  to  be  drawn,  and  certainly  not  infrequently  drawn, 
in  connection  with  modern  pedagogy;  and  I  may  perhaps  not  be 
departing  too  far  from  my  theme  if  I  say  again  that  teaching  is  not 
the  application  of  a  method,  but  that,  as  Quintilian  reminds  us,  it  is 
a  constant  adaptation  to  the  problem  momentarily  in  hand.  It  is 
the  very  reverse  of  anything  and  everything  mechanical.  It  there- 
fore does  not  submit  to  the  definite  formulation  of  a  method  capable 
of  general  application.  The  two  essentials  of  the  teacher  are  a  knowl- 
edge of  his  subject  and  skill  in  momentary  adaptation.  Accordingly, 
when  I  note  the  prodigious  emphasis  placed  on  "method"  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  profession  of  teaching,  I  feel  warranted  in  saying  that  such 
emphasis  is  of  doubtful  wisdom,  since  it  involves  the  assumption 
that  knowledge  is  of  less  account  than  method,  that  method  either 
necessarily  carries  with  it  capacity  for  the  skilful  adaptation  requisite 
in  teaching,  or  is  even  superior  to  it.1 

This  caution  of  Professor  Bennett  against  over  stress- 
ing " method"  is  very  timely.  There  is  a  disposition, 
particularly  strong  in  teacher-training  institutions,  to 
make  " method"  the  center  of  interest,  the  natural  con- 
sequence being  a  subordination  of  real  scholarship.  Where 
" method"  becomes  a  substitute  for  scholarship,  or  for  a 
knowledge  of  the  subject  to  be  taught,  it  is  a  dangerous  and 
reprehensible  thing.  In  this  connection,  we  are  advocating 
an  entirely  different  kind  of  method.  The  prospective 
teacher  who  knows  his  subject  should  have  some  training 
in  the  art  of  presenting  it,  so  that  from  the  very  beginning 

1  Classical  Journal,  IV,  162. 


42  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

of  his  work  with  his  classes  he  may  be  able  to  do  reasonable 
justice  to  his  pupils  and  to  his  subject.  He  may  acquire 
this  skill  as  a  result  of  practicing  upon  his  classes  until  he 
has  his  resources  well  in  hand.  A  much  better  way  would 
be  for  him  to  make  a  study  of  the  problems  connected  with 
teaching  Latin — in  this  case,  under  the  direction  of  one 
who  is  both  a  successful  teacher  and  an  accomplished 
scholar.  The  young  teacher  who  has  "a  knowledge  of  the 
subject''  and  " skill  in  momentary  adaptation/'  along  with 
others  not  half  so  fortunate,  will  profit  greatly  by  such 
training.  There  is  no  -reason  for  fearing  that  this  plan 
will  prove  anything  but  helpful.  If  the  young  teacher  is 
naturally  conservative,  he  will  at  least  have  good  models 
to.  follow  instead  of  the  poor  ones  of  his  own  high-school 
years;  if  he  is  naturally  progressive,  what  he  learns  will 
not  hamper  him  nor  prevent  his  improving  on  what  his 
instructor  has  taught  him. 

Better  teaching  a  necessity. — The  stronger  private 
schools  and  the  high  schools  of  the  larger  cities  are  fortunate 
in  being  able  generally  to  secure  good  teachers  for  all  their 
subjects.  The  problem  is  to  find  strong,  well-equipped 
teachers  for  Latin  in  the  weaker  high  schools,  many  of 
which  pay  reasonable  salaries  but  of  course  salaries  not 
equal  to  those  paid  in  the  cities.  These  schools,  however, 
have  more  than  half  the  pupils  who  are  studying  high-school 
branches,  and  other  subjects  besides  Latin  are  poorly 
taught.  It  is  probable  that  Latin  is  as  well  taught  as  any 
thing  else  in  the  majority  of  these  institutions;  but  when 
Latin  is  poorly  taught,  or  is  in  the  hands  of  an  incom- 
petent teacher,  its  burden  is  increased,  and  faults  appear 
which  in  fact  do  not  belong  to  Latin,  as  has  been  said 
elsewhere. 


TRAINING  OF  THE  LATIN  TEACHER  43 

It  is  an  evidence  of  the  " final  perseverance"  of  Latin, 
if  we  may  so  call  it,  that,  notwithstanding  the  poor  results 
too  often  secured  in  such  schools,  and  the  general  suscep- 
tibility of  the  average  school  board  to  the  demand  for  the 
practical,  fathers  and  mothers  still  believe  in  Latin  and 
insist  that  their  sons  and  daughters  shall  have  an  opportu- 
nity to  study  it  during  their  high-school  course.  This  faith 
should  be  honored  by  an  earnest  effort  on  the  part  of  colleges 
and  universities  to  prepare  a  sufficient  supply  of  teachers 
to  meet  the  demand.  It  certainly  behooves  those  who  are 
high-priests  in  the  classical  temple  to  stir  their  young 
novices  to  a  fuller  preparation,  and  themselves  to  furnish 
the  best  possible  models  for  the  hundreds  who  in  devoted 
allegiance  crowd  about  their  altars.  Some  of  the  best 
Latin  teaching  done  in  this  country  is  done  in  the  larger 
colleges  and  universities — and  also  some  of  the  poorest. 
That  Latin  has  survived  the  deadening  effect  of  poor  teach- 
ing in  such  surroundings  is  abundant  evidence  of  its  "final 
perseverance." 

We  must  have  trained  teachers. — Our  colleges  and 
universities  can  readily  do  a  large  service  by  pushing 
vigorously  this  preparation  of  teachers  for  the  high  schools. 
There  are  no  reasons  for  the  training  of  a  teacher  for  any 
kind  of  work  that  do  not  apply  quite  as  well  to  those  who 
are  to  do  the  work  in  Latin.  The  cause  of  Latin,  as  has 
been  indicated  elsewhere,  is  to  a  large  extent  bound  up 
with  the  question  of  better  Latin  teaching.  If  we  can  get 
good  teachers,  or,  rather,  a  larger  supply  of  the  kind  who 
make  Latin  interesting  and  profitable,  we  shall  cease  to 
hear  anything  said  about  leaving  Latin  out  of  our  schools. 

Suggestions  for  a  course  for  teachers. — Several  col- 
leges and  universities  are  now  offering  courses  designed  to 


44  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

give  Latin  teachers  some  training  such  as  has  been  indi- 
cated. These  courses  naturally  vary,  some  of  them  being 
of  more  practical  value  than  others.  Without  trying  to 
mark  out  a  complete  program,  emphasis  may  be  placed 
upon  the  following  features: 

1.  The  place  and  value  of  Latin  in  an  educational  sys- 
tem.— A  teacher  cannot  succeed  with  a  subject  of  the  value 
of  which  he  is  uninformed.     Latin  can  do  its  part  in  educa- 
tion and  nothing  more.     The  evidence  of  experience,  as 
given  in  Professor  Kelsey's  Latin  and  Greek  in  American 
Education,  is  very  essential.     Other  volumes  of  a  somewhat 
similar  character  will  contribute  largely,  such  as  Ashmore's 
The  Classics  and  Modern   Training,  Babbitt's  Literature 
and  the  American  College,  and  Harrington's  Live  Issues  in 
Classical  Study. 

2.  The  exact  work  which  the  teacher  is  to  undertake. — 
The  teacher  of  Latin  has  a  narrower  task  which  may  be 
laid  out  within  very  exact  lines,  that  is,  teaching  the  subject 
so  that  his  pupils  will  thoroughly  understand  the  language 
and  the  literature  in  so  far  as  the  high-school  course  extends. 
There  is  also  a  larger  service  which  Latin  can  accomplish 
in  the  making  of  men  and  women.     In  the  hands  of  a  skil- 
ful teacher  no  other  subject  can  be  made  to   contribute 
so  largely  to  the  real  education  of  young  people.     This 
larger  field  of  service  which  Latin  has  always  held  should  be 
well  understood  by  the  young  teacher,  in  order  that  he  may 
measure  up  to  his  opportunities. 

3.  Familiarity  with  the  high-school  authors. — The  class 
should  re-read  rapidly  the  three  authors  commonly  studied 
in  the  high  schools,  or  equivalents  for  these.     In  this  work 
the  instructor  should  show  by  actual  demonstration  the 
best  methods  of  presenting  the  subject.     The  various  books 


TRAINING  OF  THE  LATIN  TEACHER  45 

which  bear  on  each  author  should  be  examined  carefully, 
and  there  should  be  a  fair  degree  of  familiarity  with  the 
bibliography  of  the  authors  read. 

4.  Training  in  the  collection  and  use  of  collateral  material. 
—When  the  teacher  has  listened  to  the  reading  of  a  chapter 
from  Caesar  and  criticized  the  reader,  only  a  small  part  of 
the  hour's  work  has  been  done.     That  is  not  Latin  teaching. 
Even  after  the  translation  is  over,  after  all  forms  have  been 
reviewed  and  the  constructions  reported  on,  the  work  is 
not  over.     The  teacher  who  knows  what  collateral  material 
is  available  for  awakening  the  interest  of  his  class,  and  then 
collects  that  material  for  actual  use,  will  never  fail  to  get 
good  results  in  his  drills  on  forms  and  constructions,  or 
in  other  hard  work.     A  careless  teacher  objects  to  this  as 
unnecessary,   but   herein   lies    the   real   teacher's   oppor- 
tunity to  make  his  teaching  touch  ordinary  life.     Pupils 
may  forget  the  sentences  read,  but  they  will  not  forget 
the  story  of  old  Appius  Claudius,  or  the  picture  of  the 
Pantheon,  or  the  little  song  sung  in  Latin.     These  things 
are  worth  while.     This  part  of  the  course  should  include 
a  working  familiarity  with  Sandys'   Companion  to  Latin 
Studies,  which  is  the  best  of  the  volumes  of  this  kind 
available. 

5.  Practice  teaching  during  the  year. — -Not  much  can 
be  said  in  favor  of  this  from  the  viewpoint  of  those  prac- 
ticed on,  but  if  the  college  is  so  organized  that  prospective 
teachers  of  Latin  can  teach  under  competent  supervision 
for  awhile,  this  practice  will  prove  very  helpful.     Probably 
the  pupils  who  are  thus  taught  will  be  so  protected  by  the 
critic  teacher  in  charge  that  they  will  not  be  injured  more 
than  they  would  be  at  the  hands  of  the  ordinary  untrained 
teacher. 


46  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

These  are  merely  suggestions  as  to  some  things  which 
may  be  made  the  basis  of  investigation  during  the  course 
and  have  the  advantage  of  a  successful  test. 

Self-trained  teachers. — A  large  majority  of  our  Latin 
teachers  decided  upon  Latin  teaching  after  they  finished 
their  college  course,  or  else  did  their  work  in  a  college  which 
offered  no  opportunity  to  take  a  course  preparatory  to 
Latin  teaching.  Such  teachers  can  do  much  to  supplement 
their  own  efforts  and  experience  by  summer  courses  in  the 
universities,  and  by  closely  studying  the  various  books  and 
bulletins  available  on  the  subject  of  better  Latin  teaching. 
A  list  of  some  of  the  best  books  of  this  character  is  given 
elsewhere. 


CHAPTER  VI 
ENGLISH  IN  LATIN  STUDY 

English  largely  Latin. — The  English  language  has 
drawn  so  largely  upon  Latin  as  a  source  of  words  and  of 
ideas  that  no  sane  person  can  fail  to  see  the  large  possibilities 
in  the  study  of  Latin  for  those  who  speak  English.  In 
fact,  this  is  generally  accepted  as  one  of  the  strongest 
reasons  for  retaining  Latin  in  our  schools.  English 
teachers  have  found  that  pupils  who  have  had  Latin  are  not 
only  more  satisfactory  pupils  than  those  who  have  not 
had  it,  but  that  year  in  and  year  out  they  make  decidedly 
higher  grades  in  English.1 

A  fairly  comprehensive  statement  of  this  dependence  of 
English  upon  Latin  may  be  given  as  follows : 

English  derived  from  Latin.— 

i.  The  vocabulary. — It  is  estimated  that  half  of  the 
words  in  our  largest  dictionaries  are  of  Latin  origin.  Even 
our  ordinary  words  are  largely  from  the  Latin,  as  is  estab- 
lished by  the  following  quotations  from  the  Literary  Digest 
of  January  25,  1913  (" Lexicographer's  Column")- 

An  examination  of  the  origin  of  nearly  20,000  words  in  common 
use  in  different  parts  of  the  English-speaking  world  gives  the  following 
results: 

Anglo-Saxon  and  English 3;68i 

Low  German 126 

Dutch 207 

Scandinavian 693 

German 333 

1  See  Classical  Journal,  X,  94  f. 

47 


48  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

French  from  Low  German 54 

"     Dutch  or  Middle  Dutch 45 

"     Scandinavian 63 

(i)  German 85 

"     (2)  Middle  High  German 27 

(3)  Old  High  German 154 

"     (4)  Teutonic 225 

(Romance  languages) 297 

from  Latin 4,842 

"     Late  Latin 828 

"     Italian 162 

Celtic 170 

Latin  (direct) 2,880 

Provencal  from  Latin 25 

Italian 99 

Spanish 108 

Portuguese 21 

Greek,    direct    or   through   Latin,    Late   Latin, 

French,  or  other  sources 2,493 

Slavonic 31 

Lithuanian i 

Asiatic,  Aryan  languages 163 

European,  non-Aryan  languages 20 

SemitiJHebrew gg 

[Arabic 272 

Asiatic,  non- Aryan  languages 136 

African  languages 32 

American 102 

Hybrid 675 

Unknown.  .  12 


19,160 

These  are  words  of  common  use.  The  more  technical 
and  " high-sounding"  words  are  mainly  of  classical  origin. 

2.  The  grammar. — Practically  all  of  our  grammar  has 
been  borrowed  from  the  Latin.  It  therefore  seems  neces- 
sary to  understand  the  Latin  sentence  in  order  to  appre- 
ciate our  own  sentence  structure.  The  teacher  of  English 
who  does  not  know  Latin  is  seriously  handicapped,  but 
unfortunately  he  may  not  know  wherein  he  fails  to  measure 
up  to  his  position. 


ENGLISH  IN  LATIN  STUDY  49 

3.  The  literature. — Classical  literature  has  largely 
furnished  the  models  on  which  our  own  literature  has  been 
built.  Not  only  the  general  plans  have  come  into  our  own 
use,  but  we  have  taken  very  largely  from  the  ideas  of  classi- 
cal writers  and  shaped  them  to  our  needs.  Roman  and 
Greek  characters  are  constant  material  for  simile  and  meta- 
phor and  other  comparison,  and  we  read  our  own  history 
largely  in  terms  of  Greece  and  Rome. 

This  classical  current,  welcome  and  refreshing,  runs 
through  all  of  our  literature  that  is  of  value;  but  in  no 
particular  is  it  more  easily  traced  than  in  the  very  large  use 
of  mythological  references  by  our  standard  authors. 

Mythology  in  English  literature. — A  careful  investiga- 
tion into  the  mythological  element  in  a  number  of  the 
English  poets  has  been  made  under  the  direction  of  Pro- 
fessor F.  J.  Miller,  and  a  numerical  count  of  these  references 
has  given  the  following  results:  Spenser,  650;  Byron,  450; 
Shelley,  325;  Robert  Browning,  250;  Tennyson,  225; 
Pope,  175;  Mrs.  Browning,  175;  Matthew  Arnold,  100; 
J.  G.  Saxe,  100. 

More  critical  studies  of  these  references  have  been  made 
for  a  few  of  these  writers:  e.g.,  Randall,  Sources  of  Spenser's 
Classical  Mythology;  Osgood,  Classical  Mythology  in  Milton; 
Root,  Classical  Mythology  in  Shakespeare;  and  Mustard, 
Classical  Echoes  in  Tennyson.  The  last  volume  goes  beyond 
the  mythological  element,  as  the  title  indicates.  Gayley's 
Classic  Myths  in  English  Literature  gives  a  general  view  of 
this  element  in  our  literature. 

Mythology  at  first  hand. — It  may  be  objected  that  a 
knowledge  of  mythology  can  be  had  without  a  study  of 
the  classics.  This  is  partly  true,  but  it  is  proper  to  reply 
that  unfortunately  very  few  who  do  not  study  the  classics 


50  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

give  the  time  and  effort  necessary  for  obtaining  a  knowledge 
of  mythology.  Even  when  time  and  effort  are  expended, 
the  results  obtained  from  such  a  study  of  mythology  out 
of  its  natural  setting  are  rudimentary  and  of  comparatively 
little  service.  Dictionaries,  encyclopedias,  and  handbooks 
of  mythology  are  of  easy  access,  but  generally  they  are  not 
used  by  those  who  are  reading  an  English  author  for  the 
pleasure  of  the  reading.  Suppose,  however,  that  such  a 
reader  should  find  a  reference  to  some  character  in  mythol- 
ogy and  should  open  his  encyclopedia.  Take  a  reference 
to  Juno,  for  instance.  He  would  see  her  described  as  "one 
of  the  goddesses  of  the  Romans,  identical  with  Hera  of  the 
Greeks,  wife  and  sister  of  Jupiter,"  with  possibly  something 
more  in  the  same  strain.  The  reader  returns  to  his  book 
and  takes  up  the  thread  of  his  narrative  with  this  vague 
idea  of  Juno  in  mind.  But  one  who  has  followed  Juno 
through  the  Iliad  of  Homer  and  the  Aeneid  of  Vergil  has 
another  kind  of  idea  of  what  Juno  represents,  and  he  reads 
with  this  knowledge  and  gets  vastly  more  out  of  his  reading 
than  the  one  who  knows  nothing  more  than  what  he  gets 
from  his  book  of  reference.  The  student  of  the  classics 
is  able  to  enter  into  the  full  thought  of  the  writer,  and  he 
thus  really  enjoys  the  larger  world  which  the  other  reader 
never  enters. 

What  has  been  said  of  mythological  references  in 
particular  holds  of  classical  references  in  general  throughout 
English  literature.  No  writer  who  knows  the  history,  life, 
and  literature  of  the  ancients  can  fail  to  make  use,  now  and 
then  at  least,  of  the  rich  illustrative  materials  so  abundantly 
at  hand. 

The  value  of  such  a  knowledge  of  classical  matters  is 
readily  seen  by  reverting  to  the  two  readers  referred  to 


ENGLISH  IN  LATIN  STUDY  51 

above.  Both  read  of  a  " Trojan  horse,"  "some  wily  Sinon," 
a  real  "Sabine  farm/'  or  something  of  the  kind,  and  from 
the  reference  book  one  gets  an  unsatisfactory  explanation — 
if  indeed  his  search  for  information  is  rewarded — for  he 
may  not  know  where  to  look;  while  the  other,  without 
interruption,  finds  real  delight  in  the  familiar  visions  which 
are  thus  brought  before  him. 


CHAPTER  VII 
PUBLIC  TESTIMONY  TO  THE  VALUE  OF  LATIN  STUDY 

The  following  statistics  taken  from  the  reports  of  the 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  furnish  con- 
clusive evidence  that  Latin  is  doing  a  large  service  in  our 
high  schools  and  academies: 


Subject 

Pupils 
1889-90 

Pupils 
1899-1900 

Pupils 
1909-10 

Pupils 
1914-15 

Latin 

100  152 

314.  8^6 

4.0^  ^O2 

CJQ3  o8< 

Greek  

12  869 

24  869 

IO.73O 

10  671 

French  

2Q.O4.3 

65,684 

95,671 

136,131 

German  
Algebra  

34,208 
127,307 

94,875 
34.7,013 

192,933 

4.6^,37^ 

312,258 

436,016 

Geometry 

=;8  781 

168  518 

2  tr  2  .4.04. 

34.6  064. 

Physics  

63  ,64.4. 

118,036 

120,910 

184,426 

Chemistry. 

28  665 

t\O  4.31 

<?8  20O 

08,^l6 

Rhetoric  

237.  CO2 

462,711 

7l8,O75 

English  Literature 

2<Q,4Q3 

466,477 

728,018 

History  

82  QOO 

238,134 

4^,2OO 

664,478 

In  the  report  for  1889-90,  statistics  are  given  on  nine 
subjects;  for  1899-1900,  on  eighteen;  for  1909-10,  on 
twenty-five;  for  1914-15,  on  thirty.  These  subjects  are 
given  in  the  high  schools  alone,  and  the  statistics  are  strictly 
for  public  and  private  high  schools.  The  list  for  1914-15 
is  as  follows:  Latin,  Greek,  French,  German,  Spanish, 
algebra,  geometry,  trigonometry,  astronomy,  physics, 
chemistry,  physical  geography,  zoology,  botany,  general 
biology,  geology,  physiology,  psychology,  rhetoric,  English 
literature,  history,  civil  government,  civics,  agriculture, 
domestic  economy,  industrial  training,  manual  training, 
drawing,  vocal  music,  bookkeeping. 

52 


VALUE  OF  LATIN  STUDY  53 

A  number  of  these  subjects  are  offered  in  schools  where 
no  Latin  is  taught,  as  in  technical  schools.  Generally, 
algebra,  geometry,  rhetoric,  English  literature,  history, 
and  some  of  the  sciences  are  required.  Percentages  based 
on  shifting  data  are  necessarily  meaningless.  The  actual 
numbers  more  nearly  represent  the  facts  in  the  case. 
Numbers  are  not  the  only  consideration,  however,  as  school 
officers  know  that  Latin  attracts  the  very  best  talent  in  a 
body  of  students  and  offers  no  attraction  to  weaklings  and 
triflers. 

Latin  has  made  its  showing  without  a  favored  place  in 
the  curriculum,  so  far  as  most  high  schools  are  concerned, 
and  frequently  against  the  opposition  of  administrative 
officers.  It  has,  at  the  most,  had  a  place  in  a  so-called 
" classical  course"  which  is  paralleled  by  a  number  of  other 
courses  which  lead  to  the  same  diploma  and  which  are 
declared  to  be  " equal  in  value  to  the  classical  course." 

The  people  of  this  country  believe  in  Latin.  Those  who 
seek  the  best  possible  training  for  their  children  want 
Latin  included  in  the  list  of  subjects  which  they  study. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  TEXT:    ITS  AUTHOR  AND  PUBLISHER 

Who  should  write  the  text  ? — Discussion  of  this  ques- 
tion is  not  infrequent,  the  point  at  issue  being  whether  this 
task  can  be  done  better  by  a  college  professor  or  by  a  high- 
school  teacher  who  is  actually  teaching  the  class. 

It  is  useless  to  try  to  fix  any  rule  in  this  matter.  The 
worth  of  a  text  depends  upon  the  man  and  his  adaptability 
to  the  task  in  hand  rather  than  upon  the  mere  place  which 
he  holds.  Some  college  professors  have  prepared  good 
high-school  texts  and  others  have  prepared  very  poor  ones. 
High-school  teachers  likewise  have  records  of  failure  and 
of  success. 

The  actual  working  success  of  a  text,  apart  from  success 
due  to  the  activity  of  its  publishers,  must  depend  upon  the 
training  and  experience  of  the  editor  and  his  ability  to 
adapt  his  work  to  the  needs  of  the  classes  which  use  the 
book.  Naturally  we  look  to  the  men  who  have  taught 
Latin  successfully  as  the  makers  of  Latin  texts,  but  we  are 
just  as  likely  to  be  disappointed  here  as  elsewhere.  Even 
when  the  plan  is  good  and  is  well  worked  out,  the  question 
of  scholarship  may  prove  a  book's  undoing. 

In  view  of  the  large  number  of  Latin  texts  available— 
especially  for  first-year  classes — the  great  majority  of 
which  have  had  no  success  of  consequence,  the  teacher  who 
must  decide  on  a  text  for  his  use  faces  a  very  serious 
problem.  A  rather  general  suggestion  as  to  the  editor  of  a 
satisfactory  text  is  made  in  this  form:  In  order  to  secure 
a  text  that  can  be  depended  upon  for  both  scholarship  and 

54 


THE  TEXT:    ITS  AUTHOR  55 

service,  it  is  safe  to  use  one  in  which  a  successful  college  or 
university  professor  of  Latin  has  co-operated  with  a  suc- 
cessful teacher  of  high-school  Latin.  That  is  about  as 
far  as  we  can  go,  where  all  parties  to  a  book  venture  are 
unknown  to  the  teacher  who  must  find  his  text. 

It  is  fair  to  say  that  some  of  the  first-year  Latin  texts 
which  have  had  the  smallest  sales  are  really  good  texts  and 
that  some  of  the  poorest  texts  have  had  large  sales,  in  the 
face  of  the  breakdown  of  the  classes  which  have  been 
dragged  along  through  their  pages. 

What  about  the  publisher? — It  does  not  matter  greatly. 
Each  house  presenting  one  or  more  books  will  set  forth  the 
strong  features  in  strong  terms.  If  pressed,  they  can  also 
set  forth  the  weak  places  of  the  other  publisher's  books. 
Teachers  may  well  hear  all  arguments,  but  it  is  not  safe 
to  take  a  book  simply  because  the  representative  of  a 
given  house  is  a  better  -advocate  than  his  competitor. 
For  instance,  it  is  told  of  one  representative  that  he  secured 
the  adoption  of  his  first-year  textbook  by  a  committee 
of  business  men  on  the  argument  that  his  book  actually 
had  one  hundred  words  more  in  its  vocabulary  than  the 
other  book  under  consideration!  Another,  by  loosening  a 
few  threads,  actually  shook  a  competing  book  until  it  fell 
to  pieces. 

A  good  test  of  a  book's  value  is  the  kind  of  schools  that 
use  it.  However,  the  best  schools  are  continually  changing, 
in  the  hope  of  finding  something  better  than  they  are  using. 
Use  quickly  reveals  to  the  trained  teacher  the  weakness 
of  any  textbook.  So  the  report  that  a  publisher  shows  you 
of  the  large  adoption  and  of  the  high  schools  using  his 
books  may  be  good  evidence  of  the  value  of  the  books,  or  it 
may  be  merely  evidence  of  a  perfect  business  organization 


56  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

backing  the  book  and  placing  it  in  every  possible 
opening. 

It  must  be  stated,  however,  that  the  publishers  do  not 
often  force  the  sale  of  a  book  beyond  its  worth.  If  for  a 
short  time  they  make  glowing  reports,  facts  eventually 
force  them  to  a  more  sober  view  of  the  case  and  the  book 
gradually  finds  its  proper  place. 

Latin  teaching,  especially  in  the  first  year,  has  suffered 
severely  from  the  mistakes  of  publishers  who,  as  a  business 
proposition,  have  pushed  into  the  schools  books  which 
have  not  rendered  good  service. 

Who  should  select  the  text? — It  is  generally  best  for 
the  man  who  is  to  use  an  instrument  or  machine  to  select 
the  particular  one  with  which  he  feels  sure  of  getting  results. 
So  it  is  with  the  teacher  and  his  text.  Circumstances  some- 
times prevent  this,  as  when  the  text  is  selected  by  a  state 
or  city  board,  or  by  the  head  of  a  department  in  a  large 
system  of  schools.  In  this  way  some  advantages  are 
secured,  as  in  prices  and  exchange  rates.  If  possible, 
however,  large  deference  should  be  shown  the  teacher  who 
is  to  use  the  book. 

If  the  text  selected  does  not  suit  the  teacher  exactly, 
it  is  all  the  more  necessary  for  him  to  exert  himself  and 
from  his  own  knowledge  to  supplement  the  adopted  text 
so  as  to  secure  results  in  spite  of  the  challenge  of  an  unsatis- 
factory book.  His  ability  to  do  good  work,  in  face  of  the 
limitation  placed  upon  him,  is  a  good  test  of  his  worth  as 
a  teacher. 


CHAPTER  IX 
FIRST- YEAR  LATIN 

Selecting  the  text. — The  very  best  text  available  should 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who  are  beginning  Latin. 
This  is  the  year  in  which  large  numbers  who  start  Latin 
fail  so  utterly  to  do  anything  with  it  that  they  do  not  even 
see  how  it  can  be  of  value  to  others  who  may  succeed  with 
it.  Facing  this  serious  task,  young  teachers  may  prefer 
to  use  the  text  which  they  themselves  studied  in  high 
school.  While  this  may  do  as  a  beginning,  they  should 
search  for  better  texts  and  better  methods  of  teaching  the 
subject. 

Whoever  selects  the  text,  whether  teacher  or  school 
board,  the  following  considerations  should  largely  deter- 
mine the  choice: 

1.  The    text    should    be    thoroughly    systematic. — There 
should  be  a  definite  plan  in  the  text,  and  it  should  be  devel- 
oped consistently.     A  large  number  of  the  texts  now  avail- 
able  have   not   impressed    teachers  as  having  any  very 
strong  purpose  or  as  being  logically  planned  out.     Several 
have  good  single  features,  and  are  good  at  some  points 
while    unsatisfactory    at    others.     They    all    represent    a 
sincere  effort  to  improve  Latin  teaching  in  the  schools, 
but  unfortunately  many  of  them  cannot  be  used  with  any 
degree  of  success. 

2.  A  full  year's  work  should  be  definitely' planned  out. — • 
The  texts  prepared  by  Collar  and  Daniell,  some  years  ago, 
held  to  about  75  lessons,  and  apparently  fixed  for  others 
which  came  after  them  the  number  of  lessons  for  first-year 

57 


5  8  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

Latin  texts.  Just  why  this  number  was  decided  upon,  or 
why  it  has  been  so  generally  followed,  is  difficult  to  ex- 
plain, and  even  more  difficult  to  establish  as  pedagogically 
sound. 

The  texts  are  understood  to  contain  a  year's  work, 
divided  into  75  " lessons."  By  most  teachers,  a  "lesson" 
is  understood  to  be  a  day's  task.  Calling  the  divisions 
"chapters,"  as  a  few  texts  do,  does  not  change  the  fact  that 
the  "lesson"  idea  is  conveyed  to  the  young  teacher. 

It  is  highly  improbable  that  any  class  of  pupils  of 
secondary  grade  (jould,  day  in  and  day  out,  master  these 
"lessons"  as  they  are  given.  The  editors  do  not  expect 
it,  as  is  seen  in  the  titles,  First-Year  Latin,  First  Latin 
Book,  Latin  for  Beginners,  and  so  on.  Now  inasmuch  as 
pupils  confessedly  cannot  do  the  "lessons"  as  given,  and 
the  editors  do  not  expect  anything  of  the  kind,  the  question 
of  the  wisdom  and  the  pedagogical  soundness  of  the  plan 
is  not  a  very  difficult  one  to  dispose  of. 

An  experienced  teacher  might  be  able  to  divide  the 
material  given  in  the  ordinary  first  Latin  text  of  75  lessons 
so  as  to  keep  well  in  hand  the  year's  task,  and  finally 
complete  his  work  satisfactorily.  A  large  number  are 
forced  to  guess  their  whereabouts  the  first  year  they  use  a 
text.  If  they  come  out  well,  they  watch  for  the  dates  which 
they  were  careful  to  make  against  certain  stopping-places, 
as  charts  for  succeeding  years.  But  an  inexperienced 
teacher,  seeing  the  word  "lesson,"  may  try  to  force  a  lesson 
on  his  class,  from  the  first.  If  not,  he  is  entirely  at  sea  as 
to  where  he  is  going  and  when  he  is  expected  to  arrive. 
Scores  of  young  teachers  have  told  the  writer  that  this  divi- 
sion of  the  text  into  impossible  lessons  had  been  the  bane 
of  their  lives  while  they  were  trying  to  teach  Latin.  Why 


FIRST-YEAR  LATIN  59 

should  this  strain  be  placed  upon  them,  or  even  upon  the 
experienced  teacher  ?  What  is  the  good  of  it  ? 

As  this  material  is  given,  each  lesson  usually  has  a  few 
declensions,  or  parts  of  a  conjugation,  then  a  vocabulary, 
then  a  few  rules  of  syntax,  with  explanations;  after  this, 
from  ten  to  twenty-five  Latin-into-English  sentences, 
followed  by  ten  to  fifteen  English-in  to-Latin  sentences. 
Suppose  that  a  teacher  gives  one-half  of  this  material 
one  day,  and  the  other  part  the  day  following.  The  bulk 
of  the  work  will  be  in  the  second  half,  unless  there  is  expert 
division.  Also,  some  of  these  lessons  will  be  sufficient  for 
two  days,  some  for  three  days,  or  possibly  more,  where  the 
subject  is  very  difficult. 

Most  high  schools  have  a  session  of  nine  months,  or 
thirty-six  weeks.  In  this  time,  certain  days  must  be 
counted  out  for  holidays.  Thirty-six  weeks,  of  five  reci- 
tations a  week,  would  require  180  lessons.  If  sufficient 
provision  is  made  for  reviews  and  written  examinations, 
there  is  no  objection  to  providing  for  the  full  180  lessons, 
as  the  holidays  could  take  the  place  of  reviews  now  and 
then.  A  text  of  160  lessons,  well  worked  out,  would  have 
its  strong  appeal,  inasmuch  as  this  would  leave  some  little 
time  at  the  disposal  of  the  experienced  teacher  and  would 
still  help  the  inexperienced  one  in  reaching  the  conclusion 
of  a  year's  work  with  some  peace  of  mind.  Plain  common- 
sense  would  advise  a  readjustment  of  first-year  Latin  texts 
in  this  particular. 

An  editor,  knowing  these  things,  would  do  much  more  for 
those  who  use  his  text  if  he  would  make  the  divisions  before- 
hand, and  save  the  loss  and  confusion  which  must  follow 
mere  guesswork  in  dividing.  He  can  place  in  one  " lesson" 
just  what  the  average  high-school  pupil  can  do  in  one 


60  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

assignment,  and  distribute  his  material  so  as  to  cover  a 
year's  actual  work. 

If  school  officers  and  Latin  teachers  are  unable  to  find 
such  a  text  as  is  here  recommended,  that  is,  one  which 
definitely  provides  the  work  for  a  year,  with  reasonable 
divisions,  they  should  not  hesitate  to  urge  their  wishes 
upon  publishers.  The  principle  is  correct,  without  a 
question,  and  if  teachers  call  for  such  a  book,  publishers 
are  always  wise  enough  to  see  that  reasonable  demands  are 
met. 

3.  There  should  be  abundant  provision  for  reviews  and 
written  tests. — This  does  not  require  any  discussion. 

4.  There  should  be  provision  to  enable  the  brighter  students 
to  do  more  than  the  minimum  requirement. — In  other  words, 
there  should  be  a  required  part  and  an  optional  part  to  every 
lesson.     The  main  part  of  the  lesson,  the  required  part, 
should  comprise  just  what  an  average  boy  or  girl  can  pre- 
pare each  day,  with  fair  regard  for  other  lessons.     In  addi- 
tion to  this,  there  should  be  an  optional  part  to  each  lesson, 
made  up  of  interesting  material  from  various  sources,  such 
as  will  invite  pupils  to  a  little  extra,   pleasurable   effort. 
Here  should  be  Latin  verses,  famous  sayings  in  Latin, 
proverbs,    Bible    verses,    riddles,    songs,    colloquia,    short 
poems;  brief  descriptions  and  illustrations  of  great  Roman 
monuments,    the   temples,   arches,   roads,    amphitheaters; 
discussions  of  Roman  customs,  society,  and  daily  life,  and 
of  the  great  Romans,  as  statesmen,  generals,  writers — these 
should  be  short  and  yet  complete  enough  to  open  the  eyes 
of  the  pupils  to  the  new  world  which  they  are  entering. 

These  things  cause  no  loss  of  time  and  give  not  only  the 
bright  pupils  but  the  dull  ones  also  something  that  will  hold 
their  interest  and  make  sure  that  the  required  part  will  be 


FIRST- YEAR  LATIN  61 

ready  at  the  right  time.  Good  experience  is  back  of  this 
statement.  A  little  extra  "  dessert,"  if  you  please,  comes 
in  well  after  the  rougher  course.  This  optional  part, 
properly  handled,  can  be  made  to  take  off  the  burden  and 
make  even  the  hard  drudgery  seem  less  trying. 

5.  The  text  should  be  interesting. — Most  of  the  texts  are 
dull  and  heavy  from  the  first  to  the  last  page.     Many  start 
with   Caesar,   stay  with   Caesar,    and   end  with.  Caesar. 
Pupils  are  "Caesared"  day  in  and  out,  for  a  whole  year. 
Not  a  bright  or  amusing  thing  appears  from  cover  to  cover. 
In  order  to  learn  Latin,  pupils  simply  must  study;    but 
they  will  work  joyfully  and  gladly  over  something  that  is 
of  human  interest,  whereas  they  grow  weary  of  persistent 
drudgery.     They  are,  in  other  words,  much  like  grown 
folks.     The  teacher  must  see  that  the  forms  and  simple 
constructions  are  learned  thoroughly.     He  can  do  this  more 
easily  if  he  now  and  then  works  in  a  riddle,  or  a  proverb, 
or  a  song,  or  the  story  of  a  student  prank,  as  a  feature 
of  his  class  work.     It  will  help  to  carry  the  onus  of  the  hard 
labor  and  to  brighten  the  day  for  him.     The  text  should 
provide  material  of  this  kind,  either  with  each  lesson,  or 
as  part  of  an  appendix. 

6.  The    vocabulary    should    contain    as    many    English 
source  words  as  possible. — It  is  usual  to  insist  that  the  words 
be  from  Caesar.     If  he  used  them  a  few  hundred  times,  they 
are  counted  royal.     A  fair  part  of  the  vocabulary  may  well 
come  from  Caesar,  but  there  are  other  factors  which  deserve 
consideration. 

It  is  possible  to  select  a  vocabulary  from  Caesar  that 
will  contain  English  source  words;  but  a  glance  at  the  usual 
first-year  vocabulary  shows  that  it  is  not  done.  This  is  a 
weakness.  Latin  words  which  show  kinship  to  English 


62  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

words  are  easily  remembered  and  are  not  a  burden,  on  the 
memory,  even  though  there  has  been  a  shift  in  meaning. 
When  such  words  are  used,  the  size  of  the  vocabulary  is 
of  small  moment.  If  the  pupil  sees  porto,  scribo,  laudo, 
hora,  indignitas,  iniuria,  labor,  legio,  and  the  like,  he  catches 
instantly  the  relationship  between  them  and  the  English 
words  he  knows,  and  the  impression  abides.  Any  little  shifts 
in  meaning  may  be  adjusted  at  leisure.  Pupils  take  very 
kindly  to  a  vocabulary  that  is  in  ordinary  touch  with  what 
they  already  know.  Latin  can  be  learned  quite  as  well 
with  these  words  as  with  any  other  list. 

The  number  of  words  is  not  important.  The  outcry 
about  limiting  the  vocabulary  to  500,  or  600,  or  700  words 
is  quite  unnecessary.  If  the  words  show  kinship  to  common 
English  words,  a  vocabulary  of  2,000  words  is  no  more 
burdensome  to  a  pupil  than  one  of  400  studiously  selected 
from  Caesar's  Commentaries.  A  combination  of  about  500 
simple  words  from  Caesar  and  500  of  apparent  kinship 
to  English  derivatives  would  make  a  vocabulary  that 
ought  to  satisfy  everybody,  unless  indeed  some  teacher  has 
little  enough  of  wisdom  to  try  to  have  the  entire  vocabulary 
committed  to  memory.  The  general  vocabulary  is  for 
reference  purposes,  and  may  well  contain  quite  a  number  of 
words  which  are  not  given  in  the  smaller  vocabularies 
intended  as  parts  of  recitations. 

7.  There  should  be  suggestions  for  teachers,  footnotes,  etc. — 
Many  Latin  teachers  have  had  no  experience,  and  the 
editor  should  have  had  the  training  and  experience  which 
enable  him  to  make  suggestions  that  will  strengthen  the 
teacher's  hands  and  help  in  presenting  the  material  effect- 
ively. Such  suggestions  add  largely  to  the  value  of  the 
text,  not  only  for  the  inexperienced  teacher,  but  even  for 


FIRST- YEAR  LATIN  63 

those  of  long  experience,  who  may  now  and  then  get  an 
idea  that  will  help  them. 

A  general  suggestion. — In  the  first  place,  it  is  necessary 
to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  your  beginning  Latin 
classes  you  are  giving  many  students  their  first  taste  of  real, 
hard  study.  It  will  require  much  patience  and  common- 
sense  to  keep  them  really  interested  and  disposed  to  stick 
to  their  task.  When  they  complain,  some  students  who 
are  taking  other  subjects  which  require  little  application 
or  study  will  give  glowing  reports  of  their  easy  times  and 
thus  unsettle  the  minds  of  your  young  Romans.  Stay 
close  to  them  individually  and  try  to  set  right  any  who 
are  being  disquieted  by  the  sight  of  others  disporting 
themselves  under  less  irksome  conditions.  You  have  the 
hard  task  of  teaching  a  dozen  things  in  one  class.  Few  of 
your  beginning  students  know  anything  whatever  about 
English  grammar.  Many  do  not  know  a  subject  from  a 
predicate.  Teachers  of  English  are  very  busy  nowadays 
with  the  beauties  of  literature — and  you  must  with  patience 
do  a  part  of  their  work  in  your  Latin  class.  Some  students 
will  know  nothing  about  concentration,  nothing  about 
doing  a  neat,  careful,  painstaking  piece  of  work  of  any 
kind,  and  you  must  teach  them  these  things.  Hold  them 
to  every  form  with  the  utmost  exactness.  Explain  to 
them  meantime  just  wherein  they  are  weak  and  let  them 
know  that  much  of  their  difficulty  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
they  must  learn  a  number  of  other  things  along  with  their 
Latin.  Tell  them  of  the  benefits  which  have  come  to  the 
countless  thousands  who  have  learned  Latin,  and  do  not 
hesitate  to  let  them  feel  that  the  boy  who  chooses  Latin 
and  makes  good  in  it  is  a  superior  student  in  your  estimation 
and  one  whom  lazier  and  duller  boys  might  profitably 


64  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

emulate.  There  is  no  good  reason  for  being  timid  on  this 
matter,  for  the  facts  are  with  you.  If  parents  become 
somewhat  unfavorably  disposed  toward  your  subject,  go 
to  them  and  talk  over  the  question  with  them.  Do  not 
let  a  boy's  education  become  queered,  or  be  wrecked,  if  it 
is  in  your  power  to  prevent  it. 

Organizing  the  class. — Get  your  class  organized  the 
very  first  day  of  school,  if  possible.  Because  of  the  troubles 
which  former  Latin  pupils  have  had,  and  the  too  common 
noise  made  against  Latin  study  by  irresponsibles,  you  will 
find  some  of  your  pupils  in  fear  and  trembling  as  they 
face  what  they  regard  as  a  hopeless  task.  Be  prepared  to 
reassure  them.  Let  them  understand  that  your  require- 
ments are  not  unreasonable,  and  that  good  faithful  work 
will  succeed. 

Just  as  soon  as  books  are  secured,  and  before  making 
any  assignment  for  the  next  day,  have  all  pupils  open  their 
books,  talk  with  them  about  the  editors  and  publishers, 
show  and  explain  some  few  of  the  illustrations,  and  promise 
to  tell  them  more  about  Roman  life  and  customs  during  the 
year.  Go  over  the  introductory  chapter  with  them. 
Explain  what  the  Latin  language  is  and  why  we  study 
it  today. 

Then  have  the  class  turn  to  the  first  lesson.  Let  the 
first  assignment  be  simple  and  short,  and  go  over  the  main 
parts  with  the  pupils.  Explain  what  you  want  done  and 
how.  If  your  text  has  a  little  verse  or  a  few  metrical  lines, 
read  them  over  and  over  and  have  the  members  of  the  class 
repeat,  line  by  line,  until  they  can  read  them  without  your 
help.  If  your  book  has  no  such  passage,  use  one  of 
these: 


FIRST- YEAR  LATIN  65 

Florus  to  Hadrian:  Ego  nolo  Caesar  esse, 

Ambulare  per  Britannos, 
Scythicas  pati  pruinas. 

Hadrian  to  Florus:  Ego  nolo  Florus  esse, 

Ambulare  per  tabernas, 
Latitare  per  tabernas. 

The  blockhead  pupil. — You  will  be  fortunate  if  you 
do  not  find  some  pupils  in  your  class  who  simply  cannot 
learn  Latin,  or  anything  else.  Go  slow  in  deciding  this 
question,  but  after  you  make  sure  that  a  pupil  is  too  dull  for 
your  work,  or  for  other  sufficient  reason  unable  to  grasp 
the  subject,  state  the  case  to  your  principal  and  secure  for 
the  pupil  a  transfer  to  work  which  he  can  do.  Many 
high  schools  are  now  offering  work  in  manual  training  and 
similar  subjects  which  requires  mainly  manual  dexterity, 
and  pupils  who  are  unable  to  do  Latin  may  possibly  do  that 
work.  A  pupil  might  succeed  in  concrete  work  who  simply 
can  do  nothing  with  the  more  abstract  foreign- language 
work.  Such  pupils  should  not  load  up  a  class  to  the  hurt 
of  those  who  can  and  will  do  satisfactory  work. 

For  succeeding  days. — The  first  few  minutes  in  a 
classroom  largely  determine  the  temper  of  both  teacher  and 
pupils  for  the  hour.  One  of  the  best  ways  for  getting  both 
into  condition  for  good  hard  work  is  to  have  the  teacher 
now  and  then  assign  a  stanza  of  some  poem,  and  to  have 
the  pupils  recite  the  poem,  as  far  as  learned,  just  as  the 
class  is  being  seated.  Pupils  like  this,  and  if  the  amount 
given  is  not  too  much,  and  the  demand  is  not  too  exacting, 
it  will  serve  a  good  purpose.  After  they  learn  "Ego  nolo 
Caesar  esse/'  give  "Mica,  mica,  parva  stella,"  and  so  on. 
Then  let  them  learn  a  Latin  hymn,  or  a  song,  to  be  used  in  a 
similar  way.  The  first-year  class  might  learn  one  song  as 


66  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

its  own;  the  second  year,  another,  and  so  on.  This  will 
cost  little  effort,  and  will  save  you  many  a  trying  hour. 

Be  reasonable. — Do  not  try  to  do  too  much.  Make 
assignments  as  fair  as  possible,  if  your  book  does  not 
provide  for  each  day  of  the  year.  Even  if  it  does,  and  gives 
too  much,  leave  out  some  things  that  you  think  can  be 
omitted  without  harm.  It  is  better  to  break  up  the  book 
than  to  discourage  the  pupils.  If  a  pupil  does  not  do  all  he 
should,  do  not  be  too  severe — -a  tendency  too  commonly 
attributed  to  Latin  teachers.  The  world  will  not  come 
to  an  end  even  if  little  Johnny  knows  only  half  of  his 
lesson. 

Work  fast. — This  injunction  holds  for  the  other  years 
as  well.  If  you  do  all  that  is  planned  out  for  you  in  this 
book,  you  will  have  to  move  with  good  speed.  A  Latin 
teacher  has  no  business  dawdling,  anyway.  Hold  the  atten- 
tion of  your  class  very  closely,  and  from  start  to  finish 
keep  things  going  at  high  speed.  When  the  required  work 
is  done,  then  you  may  have  time  to  relax  somewhat  and 
to  take  up  something  extra  with  your  class. 

Drills,  drills,  drills. — After  your  class  is  seated,  and 
before  you  begin  the  day's  assignment,  take  a  minute  or  two 
for  review  drills  on  the  forms,  when  you  have  reached  the 
declensions.  For  instance,  the  entire  class  should  recite 
in  concert  one  or  two  nouns  of  the  first  declension:  as, 
tuba,  tubae,  tubae,  etc.,  the  teacher  indicating  the  word  to 
be  declined.  The  verbs  are  treated  in  the  same  way,  the 
teacher  indicating  the  mood,  tense,  voice,  etc.  In  this 
way  you  can  drill  the  forms  into  the  minds  of  the  pupils 
so  that  they  will  never  forget  them.  Keep  this  up  indefi- 
nitely, leaving  off  gradually  those  that  have  been  mastered, 
only  to  call  them  up  now  and  then.  Pupils  appreciate  the 


FIRST-YEAR  LATIN  67 

value  of  these  review  drills  and  enter  into  them  heartily. 
Now  and  then  it  is  well  to  call  on  a  particular  pupil,  but  in 
the  main  have  all  recite  in  concert.  Even  the  slowest  will 
get  the  forms  after  awhile. 

Assigning  the  next  lesson. — Always  use  the  last  few 
minutes  of  the  period  in  going  over  the  next  day's  assign- 
ment and  making  plain  just  what  is  to  be  done.  If  there 
are  new  words,  pronounce  them  and  have  the  class  repeat 
them  after  you.  If  the  sentences  seem  involved  or  difficult, 
translate  one  or  two  and  give  the  class  a  start. 

The  Latin-English  exercise. — Usually  each  lesson  has 
a  Latin  exercise  for  translation  into  English.  As  directed 
above,  always  go  over  this  exercise  the  day  before  you 
expect  the  recitation.  If  any  of  the  sentences  are  unusually 
difficult,  try  to  clear  up  any  part  that  may  seem  puzzling. 
At  recitation,  call  on  some  pupils  to  read  the  Latin  sentence, 
then  let  all  the  pupils  read  it  together.  Do  not  accept  a 
slow  pronouncing  of  the  words,  but  require  a  rapid  reading 
—this  certainly  after  the  class  has  worked  a  month  or  so. 
The  same  pupil  who  first  read,  or  some  other,  may  now  be 
called  on  to  translate.  If  his  translation  is  correct,  have  all 
the  members  translate  together.  If  the  first  recitation 
is  not  quite  accurate,  the  teacher  should  give  an  accurate 
translation,  after  which  all  the  pupils  might  translate  in 
concert.  Never  let  a  pupil  translate  word  for  word,  as, 
"Caesar,  Caesar,  dixit,  said,"  but  require  a  straightforward 
rendering  into  good  English.  If  an  exercise  is  found  dif- 
ficult, call  it  up  again  the  next  day  for  a  rapid  re-reading. 

This  plan  may  be  varied  now  and  then  by  reading  the 
sentences  slowly  and  accurately  to  the  class,  and  by  having 
pupils  give  the  translation  without  looking  at  the  book. 
This  training  by  hearing  is  decidedly  valuable. 


68  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

The  English-Latin  exercise. — There  are  several  ways 
in  which  good  results  may  be  secured: 

V  i.  Students  may  be  required  to  study  and  write  out  these 
sentences  before  coming  to  class. — In  class,  the  student  should 
read  each  sentence  carefully  and  give  the  exact  Latin, 
without  referring  to  his  written  paper,  of  course.  After 
the  exercise  has  been  done  in  this  way,  all  the  pupils  should 
go  to  the  blackboard  and  copy  on  the  board  the  exercise  as 
they  prepared  it,  leaving  sufficient  space  between  the  lines 
for  corrections.  Exchanges  can  be  secured  by  moving  all 
students  one  exercise  to  the  right  or  left,  care  being  taken 
that  permanent  places  are  so  assigned  that  weak  students 
and  strong  students  may  alternate  in  order,  for  obvious 
reasons.  The  teacher  should  then  go  over  the  exercise, 
sentence  by  sentence,  giving  the  correct  Latin,  and  dis- 
cussing fully  every  question  of  form  or  syntax  which  may 
arise.  Each  student  should  make  the  necessary  correc- 
tions in  the  work  which  falls  to  his  charge.  Time  should 
be  taken  for  any  who  are  not  convinced  of  the  correctness 
of  the  statements  of  the  teacher,  and  the  text  should 
settle  any  appeals  to  authority.  Have  some  Latin  gram- 
mars at  hand,  in  case  fuller  evidence  is  necessary.  Where 
blackboard  facilities  are  insufficient,  a  part  of  the  class  can 
be  sent  to  the  board  each  day.  Another  plan  of  grading  is 
to  seat  the  class  in  two,  or  any  other  even  number  of  rows, 
and  to  let  the  two  rows  of  seats  exchange  papers  for  cor- 
rection. The  teacher  can  give  the  correct  sentence  and 
the  students  can  correct  the  mistakes  found,  if  there  are 
any.  For  this  plan,  it  is  necessary  that  students  write 
on  alternate  lines,  in  order  to  avoid  confusion.  After 
papers  are  returned,  protests  should  be  invited,  and  any 
questions  raised  should  have  attention. 


FIRST- YEAR  LATIN  69 

2.  Most  of  the  texts  give  exercises  based  mainly  on  the 
rules  of  syntax  found  in  the  current  lesson. — It  would  be 
much  better  if  the  exercise  were  always  based  on  con- 
structions which  have  been  thoroughly  explained  in  class 
in  the  lesson  of  the  previous  day.  In  spite  of  all  admoni- 
tions, pupils  will  persist  in  doing  their  written  work  before 
they  prepare  the  rules  and  vocabulary  for  the  day. 

Therefore  the  second  plan  suggested  is  that  y^u  assign 
the  English-Latin  exercise  for  the  day  for  sight  trarSfc^ion 
only.  Go  over  each  sentence  carefully,  and  let  it  be  under- 
stood that  you  do  not  hold  the  class  responsible  for  previou 
preparation.  Do  not  use  this  work  in  determining 
grades.  Then,  after  every  point  has  been  cleared  up, 
assign  the  exercise  for  writing  as  part  of  the  next  recitation. 
For  instance:  The  lesson  is  on  the  ablative  absolute.  Let 
the  class  prepare  the  Latin-English  sentences  as  usual, 
but  tell  them  not  to  try  the  English-Latin  part.  In  class, 
after  the  principle  of  the  absolute  construction  has  been 
fully  explained  and  the  first  part  of  the  day's  task  has  been 
done,  have  the  pupils  go  over  the  English-Latin  sentences 
at  sight,  calling  on  individuals  as  usual.  After  the  sentence 
has  been  given  correctly,  have  all  repeat  it  in  concert. 
Direct  them  to  bring  in  this  exercise  properly  written  out 
the  next  day. 

When  the  exercise  is  ready  next  day,  you  may  proceed 
according  to  the  first  plan  above  described.  Begin  with 
an  oral  report  on  each  sentence,  if  time  permits;  otherwise 
send  pupils  to  the  blackboard  and  have  them  copy  off  their 
report,  as  suggested  above.  With  all  this  effort,  your 
pupils  ought  to  get  the  lesson  well  in  mind. 

If  papers  show  a  decided  weakness,  return  them  for 
rewriting. 


70  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

Very  much  written  work  in  the  first  year  has  often 
proved  a  nuisance  rather  than  a  help.  If  your  text  has 
more  than  four  short  sentences,  do  not  assign  more  than 
•o  four  to  be  reported  in  writing.  After  the  first  half-year, 
you  will  get  good  results  by  omitting  all  written  work. 
In  this  case,  you  had  best  have  the  class  report  orally  on 
the  part  which  you  did  at  sight  the  previous  day. 

Watch  your  weaker  pupils'.  They  need  this  extra 
interest  and  will  repay  it.  The  stronger  ones  can  help 
themselves.  Invite  those  who  need  help  to  come  to  you 
at  your  open  periods  and  help  them  get  hold  of  the  topics 
on  which  they  are  failing.  A  little  encouragement  and 
help  judiciously  given  will  work  wonders.  By  this  kind 
of  effort  you  will  do  much  more  than  by  constant  checking 
and  pulling  at  pupils  who  may  be  doing  their  level  best. 

Pronunciation. — Most  of  the  texts  use  the  Roman 
method  of  pronunciation.  In  using  it,  do  not  make  a  great 
bugbear  of  pronunciation.  Unless  you  mention  it,  pupils 
will  probably  not  know  that  teachers  ever  used  English 
sounds  in  pronouncing  Latin.  Opposition  to  Roman 
method  has  practically  ceased,  and  what  there  is,  is  aca- 
demic strictly.  It  would  be  merely  amusing  to  pronounce 
German  and  French  with  English  sounds,  and  arguments 
for  doing  so  would  be  of  equal  value  with  those  in  favor  of 
pronouncing  Latin  as  we  do  English.  .Scholars  are  agreed 
that  the  Roman  method  closely  approximates  the  speech 
of  the  Romans,  and  pupils  will  be  willing  to  make  the  little 
extra  effort  to  catch  the  few  uncommon  sounds.  This  is 
a  good  exercise  in  itself,  and  this  knowledge  will  serve  the 
pupils  well  when  they  take  up  a  modern  language. 

However,  do  not  be  too  rigid  in  this  matter.  Be  sure 
that  you  pronounce  correctly  yourself,  and  the  pupils  will 


FIRST-YEAR  LATIN  71 

catch  your  usage  quite  as  well  as  they  will  if  you  say  much 
about  it.  By  this  indirection  you  will  accomplish  your  pur- 
pose in  time.  Reciting  in  concert,  paradigms,  verses,  songs, 
and  the  like  will  work  out  your  problems  in  pronunciation. 

Accent. — A  satisfactory  text  should  not  present  the 
tasks  too  rapidly.  The  reasons  for  accent  might  well  be 
held  back  for  some  weeks,  but  the  early  lessons  should  show 
every  new  word  properly  accented.  Later,  when  the  rules 
for  accent  are  given,  you  have  the  basis  already  laid  for 
fixing  the  rules  definitely  in  the  pupils'  minds.  As  sug- 
gested in  the  matter  of  pronunciation,  accent  your  own 
words  correctly  and  be  patient  with  the  class.  Things  will 
come  out  all  right  in  good  time. 

Quantity. — The  value  of  vowels  must  be  explained,  and, 
since  nearly  all  the  texts  have  the  long  vowels  marked, 
it  is  easy  to  present  this  topic.  The  bearing  of  the  vowels 
on  pronunciation  and  accent  is  easily  understood. 

The  question  of  requiring  all  the  long  vowels  to  be 
marked  in  all  written  exercises  is  one  that  requires  attention. 
For  some  years  a  majority  of  the  best  schools  in  this  country 
have  greatly  stressed  the  marking  of  long  vowels,  requiring 
this  to  be  done  in  all  written  paradigms,  exercises,  etc. 
This  has  not  proved  to  be  a  paying  task,  its  value  falling 
decidedly  short  of  the  outlay  in  time,  effort,  and  nervous 
strain.  If  the  choice  is  between  so  much  of  it  and  none 
at  all,  take  the  latter.  Latin  teaching  has  become  so 
cluttered  up  with  extra  work  that  has  little  to  do  with 
learning  the  language  that  it  is  necessary  to  choose  some 
vital  parts  and  let  the  rest  go.  Pupils  do  not  need  a  knowl- 
edge of  quantities  until  they  reach  Vergil;  certainly  it  is 
not  a  serious  need,  and  when  they  do  need  this  information 
they  can  get  it  in  a  very  short  time. 


72  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

However,  it  is  suggested  as  a  result  of  successful  experi- 
ence that  it  is  well  to  require  the  class  to  mark  the  long 
vowels  in  written  exercises  for  the  first  two  or  three  months. 
Then  the  marking  may  be  omitted  altogether,  as  pupils 
will  have  found  out  by  this  time  the  service  which  the  vowel 
marks  render. 

How  much  should  a  class  do  in  a  year  ? — If  you  have 
a  text  of  the  Collar  type,  say  of  75  lessons  with  a  little  extra 
reading,  your  best  course  will  be  to  finish  the  text  as  far 
as  the  reading  appendix  by  the  end  of  the  seventh  month, 
or  thereabouts.  The  reading-matter  in  most  of  these 
books  is  poorly  graded,  much  of  it  being  too  difficult  for 
your  purpose.  You  are  advised  to  use  for  the  last  two 
months  or  so  some  easy  reading  like  the  Gradatim,  Via 
Latina,  or  Ora  Maritima,  taking  care  to  assign  only  easy 
selections.  Together  with  the  reading  from  these  books, 
assign  a  review  lesson  in  forms  from  the  usual  text. 

The  spare  moments. — Try  to  systematize  your  work 
and  to  push  it  along  fast  enough  to  have  a  few  moments 
left,  after  each  day's  work  is  done,  for  relaxation  before 
dismissing  the  class.  Try  not  to  send  the  pupils  out  in  the 
very  midst  of  the  strain.  A  good  Latin  text  should  supply 
you  with  optional  material  for  use  at  this  time,  some  Latin 
proverbs,  songs,  a  photogravure  with  its  explanation,  or 
something  of  the  kind.  If  it  has  nothing,  try  to  provide 
it  from  other  sources — something  from  mythology,  Roman 
history,  a  state  seal,  etc.  Get  your  class  to  read  Bulwer- 
Lytton's  Last  Days  of  Pompeii,  and  then  discuss  it  in  class, 
chapter  by  chapter.  If  not  all  can  read  it,  get  some  one 
or  two  to  do  so  and  to  tell  the  class  a  little  of  the  story 
each  day.  While  there  are  limits  beyond  which  a  class 
cannot  go,  nevertheless  it  is  best  to  bring  some  of  this 


FIRST-YEAR  LATIN  73 

interesting  material  down  to  pupils  even  of  this  grade. 
It  adds  to  their  interest  and  helps  them  to  bear  up  under  the 
burden  and  drudgery  of  forms  and  constructions.  Do  not 
overstress  this  feature,  but  give  it  some  time.  This  subject 
is  treated  more  fully  elsewhere. 

Your  main  task.— You  are  expected  to  teach  your  class 
the  forms  and  simpler  constructions  during  this  year. 
If  you  fail  in  this,  your  work  is  defective.  Make  your 
hours  and  classroom  pleasant  and  attractive,  plan  out  some 
relaxation,  but  use  this  as  a  means  to  an  end — good  hard, 
honest  work  by  the  class.  Let  it  be  understood  that  the 
task  must  be  done,  that  the  forms  and  constructions  must 
be  learned  above  all  else.  Keep  this  to  the  front  and 
results  will  come. 

Who  should  be  promoted? — After  you  have  done  your 
best  to  do  the  work  expected  of  you,  you  may  at  the  year's 
close  find  some  who  simply  cannot  go  on  to  the  next  year's 
work.  You  will  have  to  decide  promotions  on  the  merits 
of  individual  cases,  of  course.  If  a  pupil  knows  the  forms 
and  constructions  well,  even  though  he  may  be  weak  in 
his  translations,  it  is  generally  safe  to  move  him  up.  Some 
will  prefer  to  go  over  the  book  again.  It  is  not  wise  to 
hold  a  pupil  to  the  first-year  text  until  he  is  thoroughly 
tired  and  sick  of  it.  Sometimes  a  trial  of  second-year 
work  will  convince  him  of  his  weakness  and  send  him  back 
to  more  earnest  effort  in  first-year  work.  On  the  whole, 
the  question  of  promotion  is  simply  that  of  whether  the  boy 
or  girl  can  do  the  next  year's  work.  This  depends  on  the 
second  year's  task.  If  you  go  directly  to  Caesar,  the  num- 
ber promoted  must  be  carefully  guarded.  If  you  use  the 
more  sensible,  easy  Latin  for  awhile,  you  can  promote  with 
less  hesitation  those  who  are  fairly  well  able  to  do  the  work. 


.       -f-^-UJvv,     , 


CHAPTER  X 
SECOND-YEAR  LATIN 

Selecting  the  text. — In  selecting  the  text  for  this  year, 
the  first  question  to  decide  is  whether  the  class  shall  go 
directly  to  Caesar  or  spend  some  time  on  simpler  Latin 
and  then  go  to  Caesar.  Some  good  schools  take  up  Caesar 
immediately,  as  they  seem  able  to  prepare  for  Caesar  in 
one  year.  An  increasingly  large  number  of  schools  are 
inclining  toward  giving  the  first  part  of  this  year  to  reading 
simple  Latin  as  a  preparation  for  Caesar  during  the 
remainder  of  the  year. 

i.  If  the  class  is  ready  for  Caesar,  a  whole  year  can  be 
spent  on  his  Gallic  Wars  with  profit,  as  there  is  nothing 
better  for  training  pupils  in  the  forms  and  simpler  con- 
structions. The  narrative  may  also  be  made  interesting 
by  a  good  teacher,  although  some  pupils  may  not  enjoy 
so  much  of  battle  and  strife. 

The  teacher  or  committee  selecting  the  text  should 
require  good  mechanical  work,  clean,  clear  type,  and  liberal 
illustration.  Beyond  this,  Caesar  texts  are  generally 
much  alike,  especially  in  notes  and  vocabulary — sometimes 
amazingly  alike.  The  arrangement  of  the  material  may 
be  better  in  some  than  in  others,  as  some  editions  have  the 
notes  and  current  vocabulary  on  the  same  page  with  the 
text.  Some  few  editions  give  the  text,  notes,  vocabulary, 
grammar  and  prose  composition  all  in  one  volume.  This  is 
by  no  means  a  bad  plan,  and  is  likely  to  become  general, 
as  it  should.  There  are  weak  places  in  the  editions  of  this 

74 


SECOND-YEAR  LATIN  75 

kind  now  available,  but  they  will  no  doubt  be  improved 
in  later  editions. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  several  of  the  most  scholarly 
editions  available  are  so  very  large  and  contain  so  very 
much  material  that  their  very  size  arouses  prejudice. 
This  apparent  padding  is  valuable  for  reference  purposes 
in  schools  which  have  no  library  facilities.  Large  volumes 
will  necessarily  go  out  of  use  as  others  serving  the  same 
purpose  but  of  convenient  size  become  available. 

A  popular  text  in  the  schools  of  England  contains  only 
one  book  of  Caesar  per  volume.  It  is  of  convenient  size, 
and  the  four  books  required  for  the  year's  work  do  not  cost 
any  more  than  the  one  volume  commonly  used  in  this  coun- 
try. It  is  hoped  that  we  shall  have  a  similar  series  available 
before  very  long. 

The  book  selected  should  also  give  the  story  of  the 
books  which  your  class  cannot  read.  Too  many  pupils 
spend  a  year  on  Caesar,  doing  the  required  work  faithfully, 
but  do  not  know  the  full  story  of  the  campaigns  in  Gaul. 
If  the  entire  story  of  the  eight  books  is  given,  this  plan 
will  prove  very  acceptable. 

It  is  not  at  all  necessary  that  all  the  pupils  use  the 
same  text,  unless  you  are  using  one  of  the  editions  which 
contain  the  text,  notes,  grammar,  etc.,  in  one  volume. 
You  can  get  good  results  by  allowing  pupils  to  use  any 
text  they  may  have  while  preparing  the  lesson,  provided 
you  have  a  sufficient  number  of  some  one  text  edition 
for  class  use.  Different  books  will  naturally  take  differ- 
ent views  of  constructions  now  and  then.  Let  the  pupils 
defend  their  authors.  A  boy  will  fight  to  the  last  ditch 
for  a  book  which  he  has  been  doing  his  best  to  lose  or  give 
away. 


76  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

2.  Classes  are  not  often  ready  for  Caesar  at  the  opening 
of  the  second  year.  Few  of  the  usual  books  prepare  for 
Caesar,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  average  pupil  can  get 
ready  for  Caesar  in  one  school  year  of  nine  months,  with- 
out neglecting  some  of  his  other  studies.  Caesar  is  more 
difficult  Latin  than  its  place  in  the  course  of  study  would 
indicate.  It  is  quite  as  difficult  as  the  German  and  French 
used  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  high  school,  in  every  par- 
ticular— syntax,  vocabulary,  etc.  It  really  ought  to  be 
given  in  the  third  year,  for  it  is  the  rock  on  which  unnum- 
bered thousands  of  faithful  pupils  have  gone  to  pieces 
utterly. 

For  nine  out  of  every  ten  classes,  it  is  best  to  begin  with 
some  simple  Latin  and  review  the  forms  and  simple  con- 
structions of  the  first  year.  This  can  be  done  by  using  the 
Gradatim,  Fabulae  Faciles,  Via  Latina,  etc.,  or  one  of  the 
second-year  volumes  specially  prepared  to  take  the  place 
of  a  full  year  of  Caesar.  They  generally  give  about  the 
second  half  of  the  year  to  Caesar. 

Selections  from  modern  Latin,  as  suggested  above,  or 
from  Eutropius,  Nepos,  and  others,  can  be  adapted  to  this 
purpose.  Probably  the  best  material  available  is  in  Late 
Latin,  which  is  particularly  rich  in  human  interest.  The 
book  should  follow  the  plans  suggested  for  the  first  year, 
that  is,  should  give  attention  to  optional  material  along 
with  the  required,  to  verses,  notes  on  Roman  life,  society, 
government,  and  the  like,  and  should  simply  continue  the 
interest  there  aroused.  If  the  book  contains  the  necessary 
grammar,  notes,  and  prose  composition,  it  will  be  all  the 
better. 

Circumstances  will  have  to  determine  your  course. 
If  you  work  under  a  course  of  study  which  absolutely 


SECOND-YEAR  LATIN  77 

fixes  the  work  in  Caesar,  you  will  of  course  be  forced  to  do 
the  best  you  can.  Let  the  assignment  of  the  first  month 
or  so  be  very  short,  and  give  all  the  help  and  encourage- 
ment necessary.  Where  you  can  control  the  situation, 
you  will  find  strong  reasons  in  favor  of  using  the  substitute 
Latin,  especially  in  the  public  high  schools. 

The  average  second-year  pupil  does  not  learn  much 
about  the  civilization  of  Rome  from  his  Caesar.  Also, 
many  high  schools  give  only  two  years  of  Latin,  and  quite 
a  number  of  colleges  and  universities  require  two  years 
of  Latin  for  admission  to  certain  courses,  but  require  no 
further  work  in  Latin.  In  such  cases,  unless  they  touch 
some  other  Latin  than  Caesar,  the  pupils  may  leave  the 
subject  with  a  feeling  that  Latin  is  of  very  limited  value. 
The  selections  if  properly  made  should  bring  such  pupils 
into  touch  with  the  real  life  and  literature  of  the  Romans. 

Organizing  the  class. — The  first  day  should  be  spent 
much  as  was  directed  in  connection  with  the  work  for  the 
first  year.  If  the  text  is  Caesar,  talk  about  him  and  his 
great  achievements,  and  his  service  to  the  world.  If  a 
book  of  selections  is  used,  talk  about  the  writers  from  whom 
selections  are  taken,  and  explain  that  the  Gradatimy 
Fabulae  Faciles,  and  similar  Latin,  are  by  modern  writers 
of  Latin  who  prepared  these  stories  for  the  use  of  boys 
and  girls  in  school. 

For  the  second  day  the  class  should  study  the  introduc- 
tory pages,  if  all  have  the  same  book;  if  not,  simply  ask 
all  to  study  the  life  of  Caesar,  in  their  books  or  in  the  refer- 
ence books.  If  the  class  is  using  the  Gradatim  go  at  once 
to  a  regular  lesson. 

Assigning  the  lesson. — For  the  first  month  the  teacher 
every  day  should  look  over  the  next  day's  task  with  the 


7  8  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

class.  Any  unusually  difficult  words  or  constructions 
should  be  explained  beforehand.  If  the  class  is  very 
weak,  translate  a  few  sentences  of  the  next  day's  assign- 
ment, for  a  month  or  so,  but  discontinue  this  practice  as 
soon  as  possible.  If  the  pupils  have  a  very  hard  time, 
you  will  have  to  stand  by  them  and  help  them  until 
they  can  go  alone.  Perhaps  they  are  not  responsible 
for  being  unprepared.  Do  not  overwork  nor  discourage 
them. 

Where  to  begin  in  Caesar. — The  beginning  should  not 
be  made  with  the  first  book.  This  is  about  as  difficult 
Latin  as  is  found  in  the  high-school  course.  It  is  better 
to  begin  with  the  second  or  third  book.  If  you  do  this, 
give  the  story  of  the  books  which  you  pass  over  temporarily, 
so  that  the  class  will  have  the  connection.  After  you 
read  the  fourth  book,  you  can  go  back  and  read  the  book 
or  books  which  you  passed  over.  It  may  be  objected  that 
this  plan  breaks  into  the  narrative  too  seriously,  but  the 
narrative  can  stand  the  injury  better  than  your  class  will 
if  you  overburden  the  pupils  with  difficult  constructions 
at  the  very  first. 

The  daily  assignment. — This  depends  on  the  class. 
The  teacher  must  use  his  good  sense  and  try  to  get  a  fair 
amount  of  reading  done,  without  injustice  to  the  pupils 
or  to  other  subjects  which  they  are  carrying. 

High-school  pupils  are  expected  to  read  four  books 
of  Caesar  during  this  year  and  that  is  not  too  much  if  the 
class  is  well  prepared.  But  if  it  is  impossible  to  do  so 
much,  it  is  infinitely  better  to  read  three  books  carefully 
and  intelligently  than  to  skim  over  four,  five,  or  six.  Study 
your  class  and  have  it  do  just  what  it  can  do  well  and  no 
more. 


SECOND-YEAR  LATIN  79 

Sometimes  strong  classes  will  complete  the  four  books 
a  month  or  six  weeks  before  the  close  of  the  year,  although 
this  seldom  happens.  Such  classes  will  enjoy  some  light 
reading,  as  the  parts  of  Fabulae  Faciles  and  similar  Latin 
with  which  they  are  not  familiar. 

A  good  plan  is  to  give  short  lessons  for  the  first  two 
quarters  or  two-thirds  of  the  school  year,  to  get  the  forms 
and  sentences  carefully,  then  to  read  rapidly,  mainly  at 
sight,  the  part  of  the  four  books  not  already  covered. 
Chapters  read  thus  at  sight  should  be  re-read  next  day. 

The  class  at  recitation.— 

1.  As  the  class  assembles,  it  is  not  a  bad  plan  to  have 
some  Latin  song  or  hymn  or  memory  verse  with  which 
to  take  up  the  first  minute  or  so.     If  the  pupils  are  weak 
in  forms,   they  might  repeat  together  the  declension  of 
some  noun  or  the  conjugation  of  some  verb. 

2.  Questions  on  the  previous  day's  work  should  be 
called  for.     Pupils  sometimes  find  difficulties  after  leaving 
class,  on  which  they  need  help. 

3.  Read  the  review  lesson,  that  is,  the  lesson  of  the 
previous  day.     If  the  pupil  called  on  hesitates,  pass  on  to 
someone    else,    as    this   last   reading    ought    to    be    done 
accurately  and  freely. 

4.  Read  the  day's  lesson.     Call  on  some  one  or  two  to 
read   the   lesson   through   rapidly — read,   not  pronounce. 
Ask  for  criticisms.     After  all  questions  are  cleared  up, 
you  might  read  and  then  have  all  the  members  of  the  class 
read  together.     For  a  week  or  so  you  should  lead  the  read- 
ing, but  gradually  leave  this  altogether  to  the  class.     You 
will  be  surprised  to  see  how  readily  all  the  pupils  will 
learn  to  read  through  without  a  single  mistake  in  pro- 
nunciation. 


8o  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

5.  Call  on  the  members  of  the  class,  one  by  one,  after 
some  system,  for  the  translation.     If  the  passage  assigned 
to  one  pupil  is  long,  direct  a  second  pupil  to  be  ready  to 
relieve  the  reader  at  a  certain  point.     Have  the  new  reader 
go  back  and  bring  up  what  the  former  reader  went  over  and 
complete  the  passage.     Constant  repetition  of  a  translation 
will  do  no  harm. 

After  the  lesson  has  been  read  in  this  way,  allowing 
objections,  criticisms,  and  questions  after  each  reader 
finishes,  have  one  or  two  pupils  read  the  entire  lesson 
through  rapidly.  It  is  then  your  turn  to  read  it  through, 
giving  the  clearest  English  you  know.  Following  this, 
have  all  the  members  of  the  class  give  the  translation  in 
concert.  By  this  time  all  ought  to  know  it  thoroughly. 

6.  A  few  minutes  should  now  be  given  to  forms  and 
constructions,     (a)  Go  over  the  lesson  line  by  line,  looking 
for  forms  which  may  not  be  understood  by  all.     Call  for 
the  declension  of  a  word,  the  principal  parts  of  a  verb,  or  a 
tense,   now  and   then,   generally  using   the  whole   class. 
(b)  Constructions  should  be  handled  carefully  and  syste- 
matically.    For  pupils  of  this  grade,  it  is  best  to  begin  with 
simple    and    very    definite    assignments.     For    instance, 
assign  only  the  nominatives  for  the  first  week;    then  the 
accusatives  for  two  or  three  weeks ;  the  datives  for  the  next 
two  weeks;    then  the  ablatives  for  two  or  three  months. 
This  is  easily  done.     Ask  the  pupils  to  find  the  ablatives 
in  the  next  day's  lesson,  for  instance,  with  the  reason  for 
each  one.     Suppose  a  case:   p.  24,  1.  12,  legibus  usi  sunt. 
Legibus  is   ablative   with  utor;    Grammar,    §  264.     Then 
have  the  class  turn  to  the  reference  and  read  it  together. 

Only  the  forms  and  the  cases  should  be  taken  up  for 
the  first  five  or  six  months.  Then,  if  this  part  is  well 


SECOND- YEAR  LATIN  81 

understood,  you  can  assign  the  subjunctives.  Before 
this  you  will  necessarily  do  something  with  subjunctives 
in  class,  but  do  not  assign  them  until  the  cases  are  well  in 
hand.  The  subjunctives  are  difficult,  and  it  may  be  better 
to  work  out  this  part  in  class  without  assignments.  Go  into 
these  constructions  one  by  one — and  have  the  references 
read  and  explained  fully.  By  the  end  of  the  year — the 
simpler  subjunctives  will  be  understood.  This  work  can 
be  completed  during  the  third  year. 

Do  not  expect  too  much  syntax  work  out  of  class.  A 
few  minutes  of  fast  work  will  be  worth  more  to  all  concerned 
if  done  under  your  direction.  The  danger  of  copying 
syntax  reports  is  obviated  in  this  way. 

Old-fashioned  parsing. — In  making  sure  that  your 
classes  are  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  forms  and  simpler 
constructions,  you  cannot  do  better  than  to  assign  old- 
fashioned  parsing  as  a  part  of  the  day's  task  for  a  month 
or  so,  preferably  during  the  latter  part  of  the  year.  If  you 
have  nothing  better,  the  following  scheme  will  answer: 

a)  For  nouns:   Give 

1.  The  declension  to  which  it  belongs 

2.  The  declension  of  the  noun  through  all  the  cases 

3.  Gender  and  number 

4.  The  case  of  the  noun,  and  the  rule  or  reason  for  its  use  in  that 
case 

b)  For  pronouns  and  adjectives:   Same  as  for  nouns 

c)  For  verbs:   Give 

1.  The  conjugation  to  which  it  belongs 

2.  The  principal  parts 

3.  The  voice 

4.  The  person  and  number 

5.  The  tense,  and  the  entire  conjugation  of  the  verb  in  that  tense 

6.  The  mood,  and  the  rule  or  reason  for  using  that  mood 


82  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

It  will  not  do  to  press  this  exercise  too  far,  as  usually  a 
month  or  so  will  secure  the  end  sought.  Remember  to 
put  this  plan  into  operation  now  and  then  during  the  third 
and  fourth  years,  if  you  see  a  need  for  it. 

The  geography  of  Gaul. — While  working  in  Caesar 
try  to  have  a  map  of  Gaul  in  constant  use.  See  that  the 
new  states  and  towns  are  located.  If  your  school  has  no 
chart,  get  a  large  sheet  of  manila  paper  and  make  one. 
Have  the  pupils  refer  constantly  to  the  charts  in  their  books. 
Now  and  then  have  them  draw  from  memory  a  chart  of 
Gaul,  showing  some  of  the  prominent  peoples  and  places. 

The  narrative. — Keep  the  narrative  before  the  class. 
Now  and  then  have  one  of  the  pupils  go  back  and  bring 
up  the  story.  The  various  lives  of  Caesar  and  the  Roman 
histories  will  furnish  summaries,  if  there  is  need  for  them. 
From  your  own  reading,  keep  the  class  posted  as  to  events 
in  Rome  meantime.  Encourage  questions  by  pupils. 
Keep  a  classical  dictionary  at  hand  and  refer  to  it  when 
you  are  not  able  to  answer  questions  correctly  otherwise. 

A  written  translation. — Many  pupils,  especially  pro- 
spective teachers,  will  write  out  their  day's  translation  and 
keep  it  for  future  use.  This  should  be  encouraged.  The 
benefits  are  obvious.  Sometimes  it  is  wise  to  accept  a 
completed  piece  of  work  of  this  kind  in  place  of  part  of  the 
term  examination.  The  objection  that  others  .might  use 
this  translation  is  of  no  force,  for  anybody  with  fifty  cents, 
or  less,  can  get  a  translation  if  he  wants  it. 

Illustrative  materials  made  by  pupils. — When  you 
begin  Caesar,  call  attention  to  the  various  implements  of 
war  used  by  the  Romans  and  Gauls,  and  invite  pupils  to 
make  models  of  some  of  these  for  the  department.  The 
response  will  be  immediate.  Get  one  to  make  a  hasta, 


SECOND-YEAR  LATIN  83 

full  size,  another  a  pilum,  then  a  gladius,  and  so  on.  A 
little  paint  or  wood  stain  will  give  the  color  needed.  The 
vinea,  scorpio,  aries,  and  Caesar's  bridge  will  appeal  to  boys. 
Girls  can  make  a  vexillum,  or  dress  a  doll  like  a  legatus,  or  a 
miles,  an  imperator,  etc.  The  illustrations  in  the  texts 
usually  will  guide  such  efforts. 

If  business  moves  slowly,  offer  to  accept  a  good  piece 
of  work  of  this  kind  in  place  of  all  or  part  of  the  term's 
examination,  and  a  scene  of  unrivaled  activity  will  delight 
you.  It  is  really  worth  more  to  a  boy  to  get  into  direct 
touch  with  the  Roman  army  by  making  models  of  some  of 
the  weapons  used  by  the  soldiery  than  it  is  to  go  through 
an  examination.  Have  the  names  of  the  makers  attached 
to  the  articles  and  preserve  these  as  a  nucleus  for  a  depart- 
ment equipment. 

Books  that  will  help.— 

Froude's  Caesar 

Fowler's  Caesar 

W.  S.  Davis'  A  Friend  of  Caesar  (a  story) 

Holmes's  Conquest  of  Gaul 

Dodge's  Caesar 

Mommsen's  History  of  Rome  (translation) 

Sihler's  Annals  of  Caesar 

Judson's  Caesar's  Army 

Napoleon's  Caesar  (translation) 

Abbott's  Caesar 

Plutarch's  Lives:   Caesar,  Cicero,  and  Anthony  (translation) 

WaddelPs  Caesar's  Character 

Ferrero's  G.  Julius  Caesar 

C.  A.  Harris'  Idioms  and  Phrases  of  Caesar 

These  should  be  in  the  library  or  on  your  desk,  at  the 
service  of  your  pupils.  If  you  cannot  get  all  the  list,  you 
will  not  be  far  from  right  if  you  take  the  books  in  the  order 


84  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

given  above.  At  the  close  of  each  campaign,  get  the  class 
to  read  the  summary  given  by  Froude,  for  instance.  It 
will  do  good  to  have  parts  read  by  a  member  of  the  class 
now  and  then,  in  the  hearing  of  the  whole  number.  If  time 
permits,  get  each  pupil  to  read  one  of  the  books,  and  more 
if  possible.  Sometimes  this  can  be  arranged  for  as  collat- 
eral reading  by  co-operation  with  the  English  department. 
A  yearly  theme.— If  you  are  free  to  do  so,  require  each 
pupil  to  prepare  a  theme  on  some  topic,  to  be  read  the  last 
of  the  year.  Offer  a  list  of  themes  and  let  choice  be  made. 
Some  of  these  may  be  of  service: 

Caesar's  Early  Years 

Caesar  and  the  Civil  War 

Caesar  as  a  Dictator 

The  Civilization  of  the  Gauls 

The  Civilization  of  the  Germans 

The  Druids 

Caesar  and  Pompey's  Conflict 

Was  Caesar  a  Tyrant  ? 

Caesar  as  an  Engineer 

Caesar  as  a  Lawgiver 

Caesar  and  Cicero 

Caesar,  the  World's  Greatest  General 

The  World's  Debt  to  Caesar 

Was  Caesar  a  Patriot  ? 

Caesar's  Treatment  of  His  Enemies,  Public  and  Private 

Caesar's  Family  Connections 

Caesar's  Assassination 

The  material  can  be  found  in  the  various  books  given 
above,  and  in  the  histories,  encyclopedias,  and  classical 
dictionaries.  Show  the  pupils  how  to  look  for  their 
material. 

These  assignments  should  be  made  early  in  the  spring, 
or  even  earlier.  By  co-operating  with  the  English  and 


SECOND-YEAR  LATIN  85 

history  departments  you  may  secure  the  reading  of  books 
which  will  be  in  line  with  the  work  on  these  papers.  The 
English  department  might  accept  the  theme  as  one  of  the 
required  compositions. 

Now  and  then  you  may  find  pupils  who  will  take 
opposite  sides  and  arouse  very  vigorous  interest,  as  in  the 
discussion  of  Caesar  as  a  tyrant,  of  his  fight  with  Pompey, 
or  of  his  patriotism.  The  class  will  become  intensely 
partisan,  especially  if  you  have  Froude,  Mommsen,  and 
Middleton's  Cicero  in  reach. 

Have  the  papers  read  in  class  at  the  closing  meetings 
of  the  year.  The  very  best  should  be  read  by  the  pupil 
at  the  public  exercises  of  the  school,  and  printed  in  the 
school  paper  or  some  other  local  periodical. 

Prose  composition. — This  question  is  fully  discussed 
elsewhere.  It  is  generally  expected  now  that  a  fair  amount 
of  Latin  writing  shall  be  done  during  this  year,  and  the 
colleges  expect  the  material  to  be  drawn  from  the  authors 
read.  The  usual  plan  is  to  give  one  of  the  five  weekly 
recitations  wholly  to  prose  writing. 

You  will  find  the  plan  outlined  for  the  English-Latin 
exercise,  in  the  work  of  the  first  year,  as  good  as  any,  with 
modifications.  That  is,  go  over  the  lesson  as  a  sight- 
reading  task  and  have  it  brought  in  written  at  the  next 
meeting.  After  the  class  meets  and  before  papers  are 
opened,  have  the  books  opened  and  the  sentences  given  in 
Latin  orally.  Require  all  the  pupils  to  give  each  sentence 
in  concert,  after  it  has  been  given  correctly  by  a  single 
pupil.  Then,  if  blackboard  space  permits,  send  all  or 
part  of  the  pupils  to  the  board  and  have  them  proceed  as 
directed  in  the  first-year  plan.  You  may  find  it  necessary 
to  collect  the  papers  and  go  over  them  carefully  yourself, 


86  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

but  the  labor  required  in  this  is  so  great  that  it  cannot  be 
advised  or  urged,  except  in  cases  where  common-sense 
judges  it  necessary. 

As  to  marking  the  vowels,  use  your  own  judgment. 
The  writer's  opinion  was  given  under  "Quantity."  If 
you  require  long  vowels  marked,  give  very,  very  short 
lessons. 

If  you  are  free  to  try  another  plan,  in  place  of  giving 
one  day  a  week  to  prose  writing,  follow  that  given  under 
the  general  discussion.  Good  experience  has  proved  the 
value  of  the  plan  by  which  at  the  close  of  the  day's  transla- 
tion two  or  three  sentences  are  given  out  by  the  teacher, 
preferably  only  two.  Put  these  on  the  board,  or  use  the 
sentences  in  the  text.  Go  over  them  at  sight  and  call  for 
these  written  out  as  part  of  the  next  day's  work.  Take 
these  up,  or,  better,  grade  them  as  suggested  before, 
allowing  pupils  to  exchange.  Send  some  or  all  of  the  pupils 
to  the  board.  This  will  take  only  five  minutes  each  day, 
and  will  save  you  a  full  recitation  each  week  for  reading 
purposes. 

This  plan  is  better  than  the  full-day  arrangement. 
Pupils  watch  for  similar  constructions  and  expressions  in 
their  reading.  Ask  pupils  to  offer  sentences  for  the  next 
day,  based  on  the  lesson,  if  you  prefer.  You  can  modify 
those  offered  so  that  they  will  do.  Stick  fast  to  two  sen- 
tences, and  short  ones  at  that.  A  really  workable  text 
could  give  one  or  two  sentences  after  each  chapter. 

Break  away  from  the  reading  now  and  then  and  give 
other  sentences,  as  a  relief  from  the  monotony.  Use  a 
newspaper  paragraph,  or  a  story  now  and  then,  as  a  source 
for  the  sentences. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THIRD-YEAR  LATIN 

The  text. — What  was  said  under  "  Second- Year  Latin" 
about  selecting  the  text,  organizing  the  class,  assigning 
the  lesson,  and  the  general  plan  of  procedure  holds  equally 
well  for  this  year. 

The  year's  work. — This  class  is  generally  expected  to 
read  six  or  seven  orations  of  Cicero,  including  those  against 
Catiline,  for  Archias,  and  that  on  Manilian  law.  You  may 
find  it  well  worth  while  to  use  the  Fourteenth  Philippic 
in  place  of  the  Manilian  law  oration,  for  these  reasons: 
(i)  It  opens  up  a  most  interesting  period  of  Roman  history, 
as  compared  with  the  rather  tame  laudation  of  Pompey. 
Caesar  and  Pompey  have  recently  fallen,  Cicero  is  making 
his  last  stand,  and  Augustus  and  Antony  are  taking  over 
the  rule  of  the  world.  (2)  It  is  the  last  of  his  orations  we 
have  and  one  of  his  greatest.  As  the  Verres  orations  repre- 
sent his  youthful  oratory,  the  Catiline  and  Archias  his 
mature  manhood,  so  the  Philippics  represent  the  last 
great  effort  of  his  life,  equaling  the  best,  if  it  is  not  itself 
the  very  best  of  his  oratory.  (3)  The  Manilian  law  oration 
is  long  and  tedious,  and  pupils  do  not  find  it  as  interesting 
as  the  Philippics. 

Some  teachers  prefer  to  read  Cicero  for  two  terms,  if  the 
year  has  three,  and  to  read  the  Metamorphoses  of  Ovid 
for  the  last  term.  Both  plans  are  good  and  one  is  no  better 
than  the  other.  A  term  of  Ovid  is  a  good  preparation  for 
Vergil,  but  this  does  not  more  than  balance  the  good 

87 


TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

results  which  come  from  a  close  study  of  the  Archias  oration 
and  the  Fourteenth  Philippic. 

Syntax  and  thought. — By  this  time  your  pupils  ought 
to  know  their  forms  well.  If  not,  put  them  to  work  on  a 
review  of  forms.  In  syntax,  following  the  plan  of  the 
second  year,  it  will  be  well  to  give  a  week  or  two  to  the  cases, 
after  which  you  may  deal  mainly  with  the  moods  and  tenses. 
If  your  class  gives  evidence  of  understanding  the  moods 
and  tenses  by  the  first  of  the  new  year,  or  by  March,  it 
will  be  well  to  work  less  on  syntax  and  stress  more  and  more 
the  oratorical  and  logical  features  of  the  orations.  Keep 
the  arguments  well  in  hand  and  frequently  ask  someone 
to  summarize  these  up  to  date. 

Do  not  allow  your  class  to  take  too  seriously  what 
Cicero  says  against  those  whom  he  is  opposing.  Explain 
that  Cicero  is  a  public  orator,  much  like  our  attorneys  for 
the  state  who  make  out  just  as  bad  a  case  as  possible  against 
the  one  prosecuted.  If  they  were  employed  to  defend  him, 
they  would  likewise  make  him  out  a  great  and  good  man. 
The  Roman  audiences,  like  our  juries,  knew  how  to  take 
all  these  charges  and  sift  them  for  the  truth.  Politicians 
in  Rome  could  see  no  good  in  their  opponents  and  they 
said  so,  much  as  our  stump  speakers  do  today.  Cicero's 
methods  of  speaking  were  those  generally  used  by  Roman 
orators  of  his  time. 

A  study  of  the  oration  for  its  thought  ought  to  arouse  I 
in  your  class  some  appreciation  of  Latin  as  a  literature. 

Latin  at  sight  and  by  hearing.— During  this  year  the 
class  should  do  some  reading  at  sight  and  by  hearing. 
There  are  many  small  volumes  available  for  this  purpose, 
but  it  is  necessary  to  select  the  reading-matter  carefully, 
in  order  to  avoid  discouraging  the  pupils.  A  fable,  or  a 


THIRD-YEAR  LATtN  89 

short  story,  chapters  from  the  Bible,  as,  for  instance,  the 
Twenty-third  Psalm,  the  Pater  Noster,  the  Beatitudes, 
are  always  interesting.  These  can  be  written  on  the  black- 
board, or  they  can  be  used  for  hearing  exercises.  As  good 
a  plan  as  any  is  to  re-read  now  and  then  some  of  the 
chapters  from  Caesar  which  were  read  the  previous  year. 
Go  slowly  in  giving  any  new  material,  from  Caesar  or  any- 
where else,  unless  you  are  sure  that  it  is  simple  enough  for 
your  class. 

In  the  hearing  exercise,  read  some  simple  story,  as  that 
of  "  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  "  in  the  Gradatim.  Read  a  sentence 
and  call  for  translation,  then  read  over  the  entire  story  and 
see  whether  all  can  follow  the  thought.  This  exercise  is 
well  worth  while. 

Prose  composition,  and  else. — What  was  said  under 
" Second- Year  Latin"  about  written  exercises,  the  narra- 
tive, and  a  written  translation  is  equally  of  importance 
during  this  year.  In  the  oral  and  the  written  exercises, 
settle  all  questions  on  the  authority  of  the  grammar,  which 
should  be  kept  always  at  hand. 

The  yearly  theme. — For  this  essay,  topics  should  be 
assigned  several  months  before  the  close  of  the  year,  such  as : 

Cicero,  the  Defender  of  the  Republic 

Cicero  as  an  Orator 

A  Defense  of  Catiline 

A  Prosecution  of  Catiline 

For  Cicero  and  against  Caesar 

For  Caesar  and  against  Cicero 

Catiline,  the  Friend  of  the  Common  People 

Political  Parties  in  Rome 

A  Defense  of  the  Conspirators 

By  co-operation  with  the  English  and  history  depart- 
ments, these  papers  and  investigations  may  be  made  doubly 
effective. 


go  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

Books   you    should   have.— 

Forsyth's  Life  of  Cicero 

Strachan-Davidson's  Cicero 

Trollope's  Cicero 

Middleton's  Life  of  Cicero 

Boissier's  Cicero  and  His  Friends  (translation) 

Beesley's  Catiline,  Clodius  and  Tiberius 

Mommsen's  History  of  Rome 

DeQuincey's  Essays  on  Cicero  and  the  Caesars 

Plutarch's  Lives:  Cicero,  Caesar,  Antony,  Augustus  (translation) 

Johnston's  Private  Life  of  the  Romans 

Church's  Roman  Life  in  the  Days  of  Cicero 

Platner's  Ancient  Rome 

Huelsen's  Roman  Forum  (translation) 

Becker's  Gallus  (a  story) 

Sihler's  Cicero  of  Arpinum 

If  you  buy  in  the  order  given,  you  will  not  be  far  wrong. 

The  spare  moments. — The  history  of  Rome  must 
furnish  the  background  for  this  year's  work.  You  will  be 
fortunate  if  your  pupils  have  had  a  year  of  ancient  or  general 
history  before  reaching  Cicero.  Heavy  stress  must  be  laid 
on  the  life  and  customs  of  the  people.  The  city  itself,  its 
topography  and  monuments,  should  be  studied  as  time 
allows.  The  wall  pictures,  lantern  slides,  and  other 
illustrative  material  referred  to  elsewhere,  with  those  in 
the  textbook,  will  help  greatly  in  making  Cicero's  orations 
interesting.  Try  to  get  each  pupil  to  read  one  of  the  lives 
of  Cicero  and  the  volume  by  Church  or  by  Johnston.  The 
parallel  between  the  political  parties  in  Rome  and  in  our 
country  is  worth  presenting. 


CHAPTER  XII 
FOURTH- YEAR  LATIN 

The  text  and  the  lesson. — What  has  been  said  elsewhere 
about  selecting  the  text,  organizing  the  class,  reading  at 
sight  and  by  hearing,  etc.,  applies  also  the  fourth  year. 

The  year's  work. — For  many  years  the  work  of  the 
fourth  year  in  Latin  has  been  six  books  of  VergiPs  Aeneid, 
or  their  equivalent.  This  amount  of  reading  is  generally 
considered  excessive,  and  there  is  strong  probability  that 
it  will  be  considerably  reduced  within  a  short  time.  Your 
classes  should  read  as  much  as  can  be  done  comfortably, 
and  no  more.  They  should  read  at  least  four  books  of  the 
Aeneid,  preferably  i,  ii,  iii,  and  vi.  In  addition,  they 
should  read  from  the  other  books,  or  from  similar  Latin, 
such  an  amount  as  will  profitably  occupy  the  time  of  the 
class. 

Unless  you  are  required  to  do  so  by  some  fixed  course 
of  study,  you  will  do  your  part  by  your  class  if  you  spend  the 
year  with  Vergil.  Classes  which  have  used  selections  from 
Livy,  Cicero's  essays,  and  similar  Latin  in  place  of  Vergil 
have  lost  heavily.  Vergil  has  influenced  the  world's 
literature  so  largely  that  no  pupil  who  can  read  his  poems 
should  be  denied  this  privilege  and  pleasure. 

The  daily  assignment. — To  begin  with,  your  class 
should  not  take  more  than  15  or  20  lines  a  day,  which  will 
be  enough  until  your  pupils  become  accustomed  to  Latin 
poetry.  If  they  have  already  read  some  selections  from 
Ovid,  this  limit  may  be  removed  shortly.  By  the  end  of 
the  second  month,  30  lines  will  be  reasonable,  and  the  year's 

91 


92  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

daily  maximum  of  40  lines  ought  to  be  within  the  reach 
of  the  class  by  the  end  of  the  fourth  month.  These  are 
merely  estimates.  Some  classes  are  better  prepared  than 
others,  or  are  naturally  stronger.  Common-sense  will 
necessarily  determine  your  exact  assignments. 

Dactylic  hexameter. — Your  class  must  become  familiar 
with  the  dactylic  hexameter  during  this  year.  During  the 
earlier  lessons  it  is  best  for  you  to  scan  the  lessons  and  not 
expect  this  of  the  pupils,  as  they  are  beginning  a  new  kind 
of  Latin  and  have  all  they  can  master.  Let  the  class  repeat 
the  scansion  of  a  few  lines  after  you.  Do  this  for  a  week  or 
two.  Then  call  for  two  lines  written  out  each  day,  with  the 
feet  properly  divided.  By  the  end  of  the  second  month, 
require  each  pupil  to  scan  the  lines  to  be  read.  Gradually 
require  the  class  to  scan  the  day's  lesson  in  concert,  scan- 
ning line  by  line  yourself  and  letting  the  pupils  repeat  after 
you.  They  will  become  so  very  proficient  that  they  will 
scan  any  of  Vergil's  hexameters  without  effort  and  with  very 
great  pleasure. 

Prose  composition. — If  the  course  adopted  requires  it, 
continue  the  written  work  during  this  year,  following  the 
plans  already  outlined,  and  using  a  text  somewhat  more 
advanced  than  that  of  the  previous  year.  If  you  can,  sub- 
stitute for  the  written  a  great  deal  of  oral  work  in  class, 
based  on  the  lesson  read.  Now  and  then,  when  time  allows, 
send  the  class  to  the  board  and  have  the  pupils  write  out 
the  sentences  given.  This  will  make  it  possible  for  you 
to  have  five  recitations  a  week,  and  the  assignments  may  be 
made  shorter. 

Outside  reading. — During  the  year,  each  pupil  should 
read  some  one  of  the  handbooks  on  mythology,  such  as 
Guerber's,  or  Gayley's,  and  Church's  Story  of  the  Cartha- 


FOURTH- YEAR  LATIN  93 

ginians.  If  possible,  Benjamin's  Troy  should  be  read  also. 
Try  to  make  arrangements  with  the  English  department  by 
which  your  pupils  may  read  translations  of  Homer's  Iliad 
and  Odyssey  and  Dante's  Divina  Commedia  as  part  of  the 
required  reading.  If  you  can  find  time  for  fiction,  let  your 
class  read  some  of  the  following:  Flaubert's  Salammbo, 
the  Maid  of  Carthage,  Henry's  A  Young  Carthaginian, 
Gallazier's  Sorceress  of  Rome,  Sienkiewicz'  Quo  Vadis,  and 
some  of  Crawford's  stories,  as  Cecilia,  Heart  of  Rome, 
Saracinesca,  Lady  of  Rome. 

A  class  play. — If  the  class  is  large  enough,  or  if  material 
from  other  sources  is  available,  you  will  get  good  results 
from  a  play  based  on  the  reading  of  Vergil.  Miller's 
Two  Dramatizations  from  Vergil  is  good,  but  it  will  be 
necessary  to  cut  out  a  great  deal  that  is  given,  as  there  is 
entirely  too  much  for  one  person  to  commit  to  memory 
without  neglecting  other  work.  Good  results  may  be 
obtained  by  reading  this  play  to  the  class  as  time  permits. 

The  yearly  theme. — Follow  the  plan  of  the  other  years 
and  require  a  yearly  essay  based  on  some  phase  of  the  study 
of  the  Aeneid.  Themes  on  subjects  like  these  will  be 
helpful: 

Nature  in  the  Aeneid 

Vergil's  Similes  and  Metaphors 

The  Women  of  Vergil 

Excavations  at  Troy 

Excavations  at  Mycenae  and  Tiryns 

Omens  and  Oracles  in  the  Aeneid 

The  Geography  of  the  Aeneid 

Birds  and  Animals  in  the  Aeneid 

Visions  and  Dreams  in  the  Aeneid 

Milton's  Debt  to  Vergil 

Dante's  Debt  to  Vergil 


94  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

Vergil's  Religion  as  seen  in  the  Aeneid 
Vergil's  Debt  to  Homer 
Vergil's  Versification 

See  also  an  article  in  the  Classical  Journal,  III,  4,  "The 
Topical  Method  in  the  Study  of  Vergil/'  by  Professor  F.  J. 
Miller. 

The  spare  moments. — During  this  year,  careful  atten- 
tion must  be  given  to  the  study  of  mythology,  and  to  this 
much  of  your  spare  time  will  be  given.  Pupils  should  study 
VergiPs  Aeneid  as  literature  and  not  for  purposes  of  syn- 
tactical analysis.  The  amount  of  extra  syntax  necessary 
to  understand  Vergil  is  very  small,  if  the  work  of  the  other 
years  has  been  well  done.  You  should  therefore  plan  for 
a  part  of  each  hour  to  be  used  in  bringing  your  class  into 
touch  with  the  fine  arts  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  par- 
ticularly sculpture.  The  photographs,  prints,  and  lantern 
slides  referred  to  elsewhere  will  do  good  service.  Look 
ahead  and  have  the  appropriate  photographs  or  prints 
ready  at  the  right  time.  Now  and  then  read  for  the  class 
a  verse  translation  of  a  selection  from  the  Iliad  or  the 
Odyssey.  Also,  read  often  from  a  translation  of  the 
Eclogues  and  Georgics  of  Vergil,  and  from  the  Metamorphoses 
of  Ovid.  The  volumes  of  the  "Loeb  Classical  Library" 
are  splendidly  adapted  to  this  purpose.  By  all  means  read 
to  the  class  Tennyson's  "Oenone,"  "Tithonus,"  and 
"Vergil,"  Shelley's  "Arethusa,"  and  Longfellow's  "Encela- 
dus,"  even  if  something  else  must  be  neglected.  Also,  try 
to  get  some  of  the  more  beautiful  passages  committed  to 
memory  by  the  pupils,  as,  for  instance,  Book  VI,  883-86, 
"manibus  date  lilia  plenis";  i.  607-10,  "In  freta  dum  fluvii 
current,"  etc. 


FOURTH-YEAR  LATIN  95 

Books  you  should  have.— 

Sellar's  Roman  Poets  of  the  Augustan  Age:   Vergil 

Benjamin's  Troy 

Smith's  Rome  and  Carthage 

Church's  Story  of  the  Carthaginians 

Moore's  Carthage  of  the  Carthaginians 

Schliemann's  Ilios  and  Troja  (rare) 

Schuchardt's  Schliemann's  Excavations  (rare) 

Glover's  Studies  in  Virgil 

Geikie's  Love  of  Nature  among  the  Romans 

Boissier's  Roman  Africa 

Boissier's  Country  of  Vergil  and  Horace 

Wetmore's  Index  Verborum  Virgilianus 

The  order  in  which  these  books  appear  may  answer 
your  purposes.     Get  all  if  you  can. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
LATIN  PROSE  COMPOSITION 

Latin  writing  generally  required. — The  value  of  writ- 
ing Latin  as  a  means  to  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  forms 
and  sentence  structure  of  the  language  is  generally  recog- 
nized. Most  of  the  high  schools  give  one  hour  of  recitation 
each  week  to  this  exercise,  in  addition  to  the  time  required 
for  preparation  out  of  class.  The  common  plan  is  to  assign 
a  lesson  from  a  prose  composition  text  and  to  require  the 
written  work  to  be  brought  in  for  the  teacher's  inspection. 

Results  unsatisfactory. — The  results  which  have  come 
from  Latin  writing  are  generally  poor  and  out  of  keeping 
with  the  time  and  energy  expended.  Few  pupils  can  write 
simple  Latin  correctly  at  the  time  of  their  graduation,  and 
it  is  doubtful  whether  we  should  expect  them  to  do  so. 
Men  who  have  done  work  in  advanced  Latin  are  not  neces- 
sarily accurate  in  this  exercise.  Certainly  the  results  are 
very  unsatisfactory.  We  are  at  fault  somewhere — in  our 
purpose,  or  in  the  plan  followed. 

Trouble  "based  on  Caesar,"  in  part.— For  one  thing, 
the  books  commonly  used  are  partly  responsible  for  pur 
failure.  In  those  " based  on  Caesar"  and  "based  on 
Cicero,"  there  is  generally  a  lack  of  gradation.  The  first 
sentences  may  be  quite  as  difficult  as  those  farther  on,  or 
even  in  the  last  part  of  the  book.  These  books  lack  a  simple 
starting-point  for  the  beginner.  They  take  entirely  too 
much  for  granted  and  overburden  the  student  from  the  first. 

Some  relief  for  this  trouble  would  come  from  selecting 
a  text  which  takes  up  one  simple  principle  of  syntax  and 

96 


LATIN  PROSE  COMPOSITION  97 

stays  with  it  until  it  is  thoroughly  mastered.  Not  more 
than  one  main  principle  should  appear  in  any  lesson  as  a 
new  part.  Gradually,  additions  can  be  made,  but  it  is 
best  to  take  up  new  questions  of  syntax  very  slowly. 
There  are  a  few  texts  of  this  kind  available  and  teachers 
should  insist  on  using  them,  in  preference  to  the  "  based 
on  something"  kind. 

Change  the  sentences  to  ordinary  topics. — The  kind 
of  sentence  presented  in  the  text  is  another  burden  on  the 
teaching  of  Latin  writing.  Just  why  a  boy  should  have 
Caesar  and  Cicero  served  up  to  him  hot  and  cold,  early  and 
late,  is  more  than  one  can  explain.  If  he  must  read  these 
altogether,  why  may  he  not  vary  his  writing  a  little  from 
the  themes  of  such  worthies  ?  Why  may  he  not  write  a 
story  of  something  which  touches  his  own  life?  Why 
not  write  a  joke  on  a  companion  ?  A  current  story  of 
local  interest,  a  story  taken  from  the  day's  papers,  or 
some  other  source,  is  just  as  good  a  basis  for  accurate 
writing  as  a  string  of  stilted  sentences  about  Ariovistus 
and  Dumnorix.  Teachers  are  advised  to  throw  their  prose 
texts  to  the  winds  now  and  then,  and  to  offer  the  pupils 
an  opportunity  to  bring  in  a  story  or  joke  of,  say,  forty  or 
fifty  words,  according  to  grade.  You  will  be  surprised  as 
well  as  amused,  and  even  Latin  teachers  should  smile  now 
and  then.  It  may  require  several  exercises  of  this  kind  to 
enable  pupils  to  find  themselves  and  to  get  the  knack  of 
using  words  other  than  those  of  Caesar,  but  the  experi- 
ment is  well  worth  trying.  If  you  will  get  a  bulletin 
board  and  place  these  jokes  and  stories  on  exhibition,  with 
an  invitation  to  try  others,  your  Latin  prose  class  may 
become  the  center  of  a  very  enthusiastic  interest.  You 
may  find  it  wise  to  censor  these  productions  and  to  keep 


98  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

back  everything  rude  or  otherwise  contraband,  also  to  see 
that  the  Latin  is  fairly  accurate.  Cartoons  with  Latin 
wording  will  do  no  harm.  Anything  to  get  pupils  to  learn 
forms  and  sentences  is  in  place. 

Oral  Latin  as  a  substitute. — In  view  of  the  poor  results, 
teachers  would  be  justified  in  discontinuing  the  written 
exercise.  The  time  can  be  used  to  better  advantage  in 
other  work.  For  one  thing,  it  is  suggested  that  teachers 
use  oral  exercises  more  largely  in  place  of  written.  If  you 
have  texts  convenient,  let  pupils  read  the  English  sentence 
aloud  and  turn  it  into  Latin.  Other  pupils  may  then  be 
required  to  repeat  the  sentence  in  concert,  as  a  means  of 
holding  the  closest  attention.  Now  and  then  give  original 
sentences  yourself,  and  call  for  the  Latin  equivalents. 
Invite  your  pupils  to  bring  original  sentences  to  the  class. 
You  can  read  these  aloud  and  assign  each  to  some  particular 
pupil  for  an  immediate  report.  If  all  others  fail,  require 
the  one  who  presents  a  sentence  to  turn  it  into  Latin. 

This  plan  does  away  with  several  evils :  that  of  copying 
from  a  brighter  pupil's  paper,  or  from  an  old  exercise  book 
that  has  come  down  almost  from  father  to  son;  that  of 
laboriously  digging  out  the  sentence,  setting  it  down  on  a 
sheet  of  paper,  and  forgetting  all  about  it  forever  afterward; 
and  that  of  the  teacher's  simply  calling  for  the  exercise, 
taking  it  home,  and  grading  it  in  accordance  with  the  keys 
furnished  by  the  kind-hearted  publishers.  There  may  be 
other  advantages,  but  this  plan  certainly  does  a  good  part 
toward  keeping  up  the  interest  of  a  prose-composition  class. 

See  elsewhere. — The  teaching  of  prose  composition 
is  treated  more  definitely  in  the  discussion  of  the  work  of 
the  second  year,  under  the  heading  "  Prose  Composition/ ' 
pp.8Sf. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  LATIN  BIBLE,  LATIN  HYMNS,  AND  SONGS 

A.  The  Latin  Bible. — Students  are  always  pleased 
when  some  part  of  the  day's  lesson  touches  upon  things 
in  which  they  are  ordinarily  interested.  You  can  make  use 
of  this  characteristic  by  keeping  a  copy  of  the  Latin  New 
Testament  on  your  desk,  as  it  will  be  a  means  of  awakening 
many  a  boy  and  turning  to  good  account  an  hour  that 
started  off  without  promise.  The  Twenty- third  Psalm, 
the  Beatitudes,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  other  familiar 
selections  offer  themselves,  and  you  will  be  delighted 
with  the  reception  which  will  greet  your  reading  of  these 
passages. 

You  can  add  to  the  interest  by  reading  the  Latin 
sentence  and  calling  for  someone  to  repeat  it.  Then  let 
some  pupil  give  an  English  passage  and  call  on  the  class 
to  turn  it  into  Latin.  An  English  concordance  at  hand 
will  help  in  finding  these  passages.  Sometimes  pupils 
will  wish  to  commit  passages  to  memory.  In  this  case, 
place  these  passages  on  the  blackboard. 

The  Beza  edition  of  the  New  Testament  and  Psalms 
in  Latin  and  the  Latin  Vulgate  Bible  may  be  ordered  from 
any  general  bookstore.  The  Vulgate  Bible  is  now  under- 
going revision  and  the  new  edition  will  doubtless  be 
available  shortly. 

Some  selections. — That  you  may  be  able  to  test  this 
use 'of  Bible  selections,  a  few  passages  are  given  which 
you  may  use  in  your  classes  at  some  favorable  oppor- 
tunity. 

99 


ioo  TEACHING  HIGH  SCHOOL  LATIN 

1.  a)  Matt.  6:9-13,  The  Lord's  Prayer,  Beza  edition: 
Pater  noster,  qui  es  in  coelis,  sanctificetur  nomen  tuum.    Ad- 

veniat  regnum  tuum;  fiat  voluntas  tua,  ut  in  coelo,  ita  etiam  in 
terra.  Panem  nostrum  quotidianum  da  nobis  hodie.  Et  remitte 
nobis  debit  a  nostra,  sicut  et  nos  remit  timus  debitoribus  nostris. 
Et  ne  nos  inducas  in  tentationem,  sed  libera  nos  ab  illo  improbo. 
Quia  tuum  est  regnum,  et  potentia,  et  gloria,  in  saecula.  Amen. 

6)  Vulgate  edition: 

Pater  noster,  qui  es  in  coelis,  sanctificetur  nomen  tuum.  Ad- 
veniat  regnum  tuum.  Fiat  voluntas  tua,  sicut  in  coelo,  et  in  terra. 
Panem  nostrum  quotidianum  da  nobis  hodie.  -Et  dimitte  nobis 
debit  a  nostra,  sicut  et  nos  dimit  timus  debitoribus  nostris.  Et  ne 
nos  inducas  in  tentationem;  sed  libera  nos  a  malo.  Amen. 

2.  a)  Ps.  23,  Beza  edition: 

Jehova  pastor  meus  est,  non  possum  egere.  In  caulis  herbidis 
facit  ut  recubem,  secundum  aquas  lenes  deducit  me. 

Animam  meam  quietam  efficit;  ducit  me  per  orbitas  justitiae, 
propter  nomen  suum. 

Etiam  quum  ambularem  per  vallem  lethalis  umbrae,  non  time- 
rem  malum,  quia  tu  mecum  es;  virga  tua  et  pedum  tuum,  ipsa 
consolantur  me.  Instruis  coram  me  mensam  e  regione  hostium 
meorum:  delibutum  reddis  unguento  caput  meum,  pbculum  meum 
exuberans. 

Nihil  nisi  bonum  et  benignitas  prosequentur  me  omnibus  diebus 
vitae  meae;  et  quietus  ero  in  domo  Jehovae,  quamdiu  longa  erunt 
tempora. 

6)  Ps.  22,  Vulgate  edition: 

Dominus  regit  me,  et  nihil  mihi  deerit:  in  loco  pascuae  ibi  me 
collocavit. 

Super  aquam  refectionis  educavit  me:  animam  meam  convertit. 

Deduxit  me  super  semitas  justitiae,  propter  nomen  suum. 

Nam,  et  si  ambulavero  in  medio  umbrae  mortis,  non  timebo 
mala:  quoniam  tu  mecum  es. 

Virga  tua,  et  baculus  tuus:  ipsa  me  consolata  sunt. 

Parasti  in  conspectu  meo  mensam,  adversus  eos  qui  tribulunt  me. 


THE  LATIN  BIBLE,  HYMNS,-  AND  S'OAGS         ,-xpi 

Impinguasti  in  oleo  caput  meum:  et  calix  meus  inebrians  quam 
praeclarus  est! 

Et  misericordia  tua  subsequetur  me  omnibus  diebus  vitae  meae. 
Et  ut  inhabitem  in  domo  Domini,  in  longitudinem  dierum. 

B.  Latin  hymns. — You  may  use  a  few  Latin  hymns  in 
a  similar  way.  Young  people  are  always  glad  to  sing,  if 
it  means  relief  from  class  work  for  the  time  being.  Schools 
can  use  this  disposition  to  good  purposes  now  and  then, 
especially  when  times  of  stress  and  nerve  strain  call  for 
some  means  of  averting  trouble.  A  Latin  song  is  very 
effective,  and  a  class  can  usually  be  interested  by  the  first 
suggestion  of  such  a  song.  Latin  hymns  are  frequently 
given  with  English  translations;  this  can  be  turned  to  good 
account,  as  by  reading  the  Latin  to  the  class  and  inviting 
an  English  translation. 

The  Latin  hymns  are  a  great  literature  in  themselves 
and  for  their  own  sake  are  worth  knowing.  The  modern 
churches  make  use  of  a  limited  number  in  translations,  and 
these  constitute  about  the  best  we  have  in  our  hymnals. 
Some  do  not  lend  themselves  to  translation  readily,  but 
they  should  still  have  a  place  in  our  singing.  The  audience 
would  not  be  able  to  follow  the  thought,  it  is  true,  but  very 
few  of  us  know  what  is  being  said  by  the  choir  anyway, 
and  we  have  to  take  for  granted  that  it  is  all  right.  If  we 
knew  that  they  were  singing  one  of  the  great  Latin  hymns, 
that  fact  would  afford  no  little  satisfaction,  and  would 
compensate  us  for  our  inability  to  find  words  in  the 
sounds  made. 

Some  selected  hymns. — The  following  Latin  hymns, 
simple  in  thought  and  easy  of  translation,  are  given  in 
order  that  teachers  may  try  the  effect  of  them  upon  their 
classes : 


102  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

1.  This  beautiful  Christmas  hymn  by  some  unknown 
author   always   interests   young   Latin   students,    and   is 
especially  appropriate  for  use  during  the  holiday  season: 

Adeste,  fideles,  Cantet  nunc  lo 

Laeti,  triumphantes,  Chorus  Angelorum, 

Venite,  venite  in  Bethlehem:  Cantet  nunc  aula  caelestium: 

Natum  videte  Gloria  in 

Regem  Angelorum:  Excelsis  Deo: 

Venite  adoremus,  Venite  adoremus, 

Venite  adoremus,  Venite  adoremus, 

Venite  adoremus  Dominum.  Venite  adoremus  Dominum. 

Deum  de  Deo,  Ergo  qui  natus 

Lumen  de  lumine,  Die  hodierna, 

Gestant  puellae  viscera:  lesu,  tibi  sit  gloria: 

Deum  verum,  Patris  aeterni 

Genitum  non  factum:  Verbum  caro  factum: 

Venite  adoremus,  Venite  adoremus, 

Venite  adoremus,  Venite  adoremus, 

Venite  adoremus  Dominum.  Venite  adoremus  Dominum. 

Music:  " Portuguese  Hymn/'  found  in  all  hymnals.  A 
translation,  "0  Come  All  Ye  Faithful/'  is  commonly  given 
with  the  music. 

2.  "Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus/'  by  Innocent  III,  which  has 
also  been  ascribed  to  Robert  II  of  France,  and  others, 
may  likewise  be  used: 

Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus,  In  labore  requies, 

Et  emitte  caelitus  In  aestu  temperies, 

Lucis  trae  radium.  In  fletu  solatium. 
Veni,  pater  pauperum, 

Veni,  dator  munerum,  °  lux  b<»tissima, 

Veni,  lumen  cordium.  Re?le  cordis  intima 

Tuorum  ndelmm. 

Consulator  optime,  Sine  tuo  numine 

Dulcis  hospes  animae,  Nihil  est  in  homine, 

Duke  refrigerium  Nihil  est  innoxium. 


THE  LATIN  BIBLE,  HYMNS,  AND  SONGS 


103 


Lava  quod  est  sordidum, 
Riga  quod  est  aridum, 
Sana  quod  est  saucium, 
Flecte  quod  est  rigidum, 
Fove  quod  est  f rigidum, 
Rege  quod  est  devium. 


Da  tuis  fidelibus 
In  te  confidentibus 
Sacrum  septenarium; 
Da  virtutis  meritum, 
Da  salutis  exitum, 
Da  perenne  gaudium. 


Music:  Found  in  all  hymnals,  usually  with  a  translation, 
"Come,  Holy  Ghost,  in  Love,  Shed  on  Us  from  Above." 
The  tune  "New  Haven"  is  commonly  used. 

3.  The  following  hymn,  by  Thomas  of  Celano,  is  readily 
learned  by  even  very  young  students  because  of  its  simple 
meter  and  the  rather  charming  rhyme: 


Dies  irae,  dies  ilia 
Solvet  saeclum  in  fa  villa 
Teste  David  cum  Sibylla. 

Quantus  tremor  est  futurus 
Quando  index  est  venturus, 
Cuncta  stricte  discussurus! 

Tuba,  mirum  spargens  sonum 
Per  sepulcra  regionum, 
Coget  omnes  ante  thronum. 

Mors  stupebit,  et  natura, 
Cum  resurget  creatura 
Indicanti  responsura. 

Liber  scriptus  prof  ere  tur, 
In  quo  totum  continetur, 
Unde  mundus  iudicetur. 


Index  ergo  cum  sedebit, 
Quidquid  latet,  apparebit, 
Nil  inultum  remanebit. 

Quid  sum  miser  tune  dicturus, 
Quern  patronum  rogaturus, 
Cum  vix  iustus  sit  securus  ? 

Rex  tremendae  maiestatis, 
Qui  salvandos  salvas  gratis, 
Salva  me,  fons  pietatis. 

Recordare,  lesu  pie, 
Quod  sum  causa  tuae  viae; 
Ne  me  per  das  ilia  die! 

Quaereus  me  sedisti  lassus, 
Redemisti  crucem  passus: 
Tantus  labor  non  sit  cassus! 


luste  iudex  ultionis, 
Donum  fac  remissionis 
Ante  diem  rationis! 


104  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

Music:  "Dies  Irae,"  found  in  all  hymnals,  usually  with  a 
translation  entitled  "Day  of  Wrath,  O  Dreadful  Day/' 

4.  Another  hymn  which  will  interest  students  is  Glad- 
stone's rendering  of  Toplady's  "Rock  of  Ages": 

lesu,  pro  me  perforates,  Nil  in  maim  mecum  fero, 

Condar  intra  tuum  latus,  Sed  me  versus  crucem  gero; 

Tu  per  lympham  profluentem,  Vestimenta  nudus  oro, 

Tu  per  sanguinem  tepentem,  Opem  debilis  imploro; 

In  peccata  mi  redunda,  FontemChristiquaeroimmundus, 

Tolle  culpam,  sordes  munda.  Nisi  laves,  moribundus. 

Coram  te  nee  iustus  forem,  Dum  hos  artus  vita  regit; 

Quamvis  tota  vi  laborem,  Quando  nox  sepulchro  tegit; 

Nee  si  fide  nunquam  cesso,  Mortuos  cum  stare  iubes; 

Fletu  stillans  indefesso:  Sedens  iudex  inter  nubes; 

Tibi  soli  tantum,  munus;  lesu,  pro  me  perforatus, 

Salva  me,  Salvator  unus!  Condar  intra  tuum  latus. 

Music:  "Rock  of  Ages,"  found  in  all  hymnals.  The  last 
two  syllables  are  read  as  one. 

There  are  others  in  large  numbers  which  can  be  used 
to  good  advantage,  and  teachers  will  do  a  large  service  for 
general  culture  by  bringing  them  to  the  attention  of  their 
classes.  "Te  Deum  laudamus,"  by  St.  Ambrose;  "Grates 
nunc  omnes  reddamus,"  by  Nokter,  of  St.  Gall;  "0  quanta 
qualia  sunt  ilia  Sabbata,"  by  Abelard;  "Stabat  mater 
dolorosa,"  by  Innocent  III;  "Jerusalem  luminosa,"  by 
an  unknown  author;  "Arx  firma  Deus  noster  est,"  Butt- 
man's  rendering  of  Luther's  "Ein  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott," 
are  worthy  of  the  time  and  effort  of  anyone  who  would 
think  the  great  thoughts  of  the  choicest  minds  of  all  ages. 

Books. — These  books  may  be  obtained,  and  they  are 
worth  buying,  especially  the  last,  which  contains  other 
Latin  songs  together  with  some  of  the  best  hymns: 


THE  LATIN  BIBLE,  HYMNS,  AND  SONGS          105 

Latin  Hymns,  by  Professor  William  A.  Merrill 
Latin  Hymns,  by  Professor  F.  A.  March 
Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  Their  Hymns  by  S.  Duffield 
Latin  Songs,  with  Music,  by  Professor  Calvin  S.  Brown 

C.  Latin  Songs. — What  was  said  of  Latin  hymns  is 
equally  in  place  for  Latin  songs,  with  the  additional  con- 
sideration that  songs  can  be  used  on  many  occasions  where 
the  hymns  cannot. 

Some  selected  songs. — In  order  that  you  may  test  this 
plan,  a  few  Latin  songs  are  given: 

i.  "Lauriger  Horatius,"  by  an  unknown  author; 

Lauriger  Horatius, 
Quam  dixisti  verum: 
Fugit  Euro  citius 
Tempus  edax  rerum. 

CHORUS.     Ubi  sunt,  O  pocula, 
Dulciora  melle, 
Rixae,  pax,  et  oscula, 
Rubentis  puellae. 

Crescit  uva  molliter, 
Et  puella  crescit; 
Sec  poeta  turpiter 
Sitiens  canescit. 

CHORUS. 

Quid  iuvat  aeternitas 
Nominis  amare 
Nisi  terrae  filias 
Licet  et  potare  ? 

CHORUS. 

Music:   That  commonly  associated  with  " Maryland,  My 
Maryland." 


io6  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

2.  "Gaudeamus  Igitur,"  by  an  unknown  author: 

Gaudeamus  igitur, 
luvenes  dum  sumus; 
Gaudeamus  igitur, 
luvenes  dum  sumus; 
Post  iucundam  iuventutem. 
Post  molestam  senectutem, 
Nos  habebit  humus, 
Nos  habebit  humus. 

Ubi  sunt  qui  ante  nos 
In  mundo  fuere  ? 
Ubi  sunt  qui  ante  nos 
In  mundo  fuere  ? 
Transeas  ad  superos, 
Abeas  ad  inferos, 
Quos  si  vis  videre, 
Quos  si  vis  videre. 

Vivat  academia, 
Vivant  professores, 
Vivat  academia, 
Vivant  professores, 
Vivat  membrum  quodlibet, 
Vivant  membra  quaelibet, 
Semper  sint  in  flore, 
Semper  sint  in  flore. 

Music:  " Gaudeamus,"  found  in  a  number  of  the  popu- 
lar songbooks,  also  those  used  for  school  purposes,  as  The 
Academy  Song  Book,  published  by  Ginn  &  Co.,  which  has  a 
number  of  Latin  songs. 

3:  " Integer  Vitae,"  by  Horace: 

Integer  vitae,  scelerisque  purus 
Non  eget  Mauris  iaculis  nee  arcu, 
Nee  venenatis  gravida  sagittis, 
Fusee,  pharetra. 


THE  LATIN  BIBLE,  HYMNS,  AND  SONGS          107 

Sive  per  Syrtes,  iter  aestuosas, 
Sive  facturus  per  inhospitalem 
Caucasum,  vel  quae  loca  fabulosus 
Lambit  Hydaspes. 

Namque  me  silva  lupus  in  Sabina, 
Dum  meam  canto  Lalagen,  et  ultra 
Terminum  curis  vagor  expeditis, 
Fugit  inermem. 

Quale  portentum  neque  militaris, 
Daunias  latis  alit  aesculetis, 
Nee  iubae  tellus  generat  leonum 
Arida  nutrix. 

Pone  me  pigris  ubi  nulla  campis 
Arbor  aestiva  recreatur  aura; 
Quod  latus  mundi  nebulae  malusque 
luppiter  urget. 

Pone  sub  curru  nimium  propinqui 
Soils,  in  terra  domibus  negata; 
Dulce  ridentem  Lalagen  amabo, 
Dulce  loquentem. 

Music:    " Integer  Vitae,"  found  in  many  songbooks,  and 
commonly  called  "Flemming." 


CHAPTER  XV 
CLASSROOM  EQUIPMENT  FOR  THE  LATIN  DEPARTMENT 

Teachers  of  Latin  have  not  generally  urged  upon  the 
school  authorities  their  need  of  classroom  equipment  and 
consequently  this  has  received  little  attention.  It  is  quite 
as  important  for  the  Latin  teacher  to  have  a  modern  equip- 
ment for  his  work  as  it  is  for  the  teacher  of  any  subject 
in  the  course  of  study. 

For  a  long  time  teachers  of  science  were  unable  to  secure 
any  laboratory  facilities,  but  a  better  day  has  dawned  for 
the  sciences.  It  is  now  comparatively  easy  for  science 
teachers  to  convince  the  school  authorities  of  their  need  of 
laboratory  materials,  and  this  is  very  fortunate.  The 
Latin  teacher,  also,  must  press  his  needs  upon  the  attention 
of  his  school  board.  Without  proper  equipment,  he  can- 
not hope  to  do  his  best  work  nor  get  the  most  satisfactory 
results. 

Some  needs  of  the  Latin  room: 

1.  Charts. — The    Latin    classroom    should    have    the 
following  wall  maps :  Ancient  Italy,  Ancient  Gaul,  Ancient 
Rome,  Ancient  Greece,  the  Roman  Empire.     Either  the 
"Kiepert   Classical   Series"    or   the    "Kampen    Classical 
Series"  will  prove  satisfactory,  although  the  latter  are 
preferable.     Buy  your  charts  mounted  on  spring  rollers 
and  boxed. 

2.  Books. — 

a)  General,  for  the  class.— 

Necessary:  Lewis,  Latin  Dictionary;  Smith,  English- 
Latin  Dictionary;  Harper,  Classical  Dictionary;  Platner, 

108 


CLASSROOM  EQUIPMENT  109 

Ancient  Rome;  Mau-Kelsey,  Pompeii;  Tarbell,  Greek 
Sculpture;  Fowler,  Roman  Literature;  Huelsen,  Roman 
Forum  (translation) ;  Sandys,  Companion  to  Latin  Studies 
(very  important);  Kiepert,  Classical  Atlas;  Johnston, 
Latin  Manuscripts. 

Desirable:  Harper,  Latin  Dictionary;  Lanciani,  Ancient 
Rome;  Gayley,  Classics  Myths  in  English  Literature; 
Teuffel  and  Schwabe,  History  of  Roman  Literature  (trans- 
lation by  Ware) ;  Bulfinch,  Age  of  Fable;  Schreiber,  Atlas 
of  Classical  Antiquities;  von  Mach,  Greek  and  Roman 
Sculpture  Prints,  with  Handbook. 

b)  Mainly  for  your  own  use. — 

Absolutely  necessary:  (i)  Kelsey,  Latin  and  Greek  in 
American  Education;  you  cannot  get  along  without  this 
book;  (2)  the  Classical  Weekly,  Professor  Charles  Knapp, 
editor,  Columbia  University  Press,  New  York  City; 
(3)  the  Classical  Journal,  Professor  Frank  J.  Miller,  editor, 
The  University  of  Chicago  Press,  Chicago;  (4)  Art  and 
Archaeology,  Professor  D.  M.  Robinson,  editor,  Archaeologi- 
cal Institute  of  America,  Washington,  D.C.  These  three 
magazines  are  indispensable. 

Desirable:  Ashmore,  The  Classics  and  Modern  Training; 
Babbitt,  Literature  in  the  American  College;  Harrington, 
Live  Issues  in  Classical  Study;  Showerman,  The  Professor; 
Byrne,  Syntax  of  High  School  Latin;  Lodge,  High  School 
Latin  Vocabulary;  Bennett  and  Bristol,  The  Teaching  of 
Latin  and  Greek  in  the  Secondary  School.  You  should  also 
have  a  copy  of  The  Relation  of  Latin  to  Practical  Life,  by 
Miss  Frances  Ellis  Sabin  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin, 
Madison,  Wisconsin. 

In  addition  to  these  books,  the  Latin  classroom  should 
have  a  good  number  of  the  school  editions  of  the  authors 


no  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

read,  the  more  the  better,  and  all  the  Latin  grammars 
commonly  referred  to  in  the  editions  of  the  authors.  It  is 
worth  while  to  have  a  number  of  the  texts  used  in  Latin 
prose  composition,  particularly  for  purposes  of  comparison. 
The  teacher  should  endeavor  to  secure  copies  of  every 
available  text  for  beginning  Latin  students,  and  if  a  few 
of  those  used  in  Canada  and  England  are  secured  they  will 
prove  decidedly  suggestive  and  helpful. 

3.  Wall  Pictures.— Every  Latin  classroom  should  have 
a   number   of   photographic    enlargements   of   important 
features  of  Rome  and  the  adjacent  region.     The  following 
are  of  interest:   the  Forum,  one  view  looking  east  and  one 
looking  west;    the  Colosseum,  the  Pantheon,  the  Arches 
of  Titus,  Septimius  Severus,  and  Constantine,  the  Tomb  of 
Hadrian,  and  the  Tiber  River;    a  view  of  Pompeii  with 
Vesuvius  in  the  background.     A  view  of  the  Acropolis  and 
the  Parthenon  is  also  desirable. 

Any  of  the  dealers  in  lantern  slides  and  photographs 
can  furnish  photographic  prints  which  can  be  readily 
enlarged.  The  Soule  Art  Publishing  Company,  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  and  the  Records  of  the  Past  Exploration 
Society,  Washington,  D.C.,  will  send  prints  on  approval, 
and  from  these  you  can  make  selections  which  they  will 
enlarge  and  frame,  if  you  wish. 

The  size  and  plan  of  your  classroom  and  the  subject  of 
the  picture  will  determine  the  size  of  the  pictures  that  will 
harmonize  with  their  surroundings.  These  sizes  are  good: 
24X30,  22X32,  27X37,  25X35,  22X28,  20X26.  Smaller 
sizes  can  be  made,  as  i4X  18,  i2X  16,  and  on  down.  Plan 
your  sizes  to  fit  into  the  wall  space  available.  The  bromide 
enlargements  will  serve  every  purpose. 

4.  Sculptures. — High  schools  may  not  often  be  in  a 
position  to  purchase  even  plaster  copies  of  classic  sculp- 


CLASSROOM  EQUIPMENT  in 

tures,  but,  if  possible,  busts  of  the  authors  read  should  be 
secured.  Prices  range  from  about  $10  up.  The  Boston 
Sculpture  Company,  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  P.  P. 
Caproni  &  Brother,  Boston,  Massachusetts,  will  send  full 
information. 

5.  Lantern  Slides. — Every  high  school  should  have  a 
lantern.  Those  which  can  should  also  provide  lanterns 
for  the  main  classrooms.  The  outlay  is  small  in  compari- 
son with  the  service  rendered.  Extra  shades  will  readily 
darken  the  windows  and  make  it  possible  to  use  illustrative 
material  at  the  right  time. 

Any  of  the  large  supply  houses  will  furnish  lanterns 
and  slides — as  Williams,  Brown  &  Earle,  Philadelphia; 
Mclntosh  Stereopticon  Company,  Chicago;  and  T.  H. 
McAllister  Company,  New  York.  The  small  lanterns 
furnished  by  the  Bausch  &  Lomb  Optical  Company, 
Rochester,  New  York,  are  as  good  as  any  for  your  purposes. 

The  following  sets  of  slides  are  of  particular  interest 
to  Latin  teachers: 

a)  Professor  F.  C.  Eastman,  University  of  Iowa,  Iowa 
City,  Iowa.  For  use  in  the  high  schools  of  Iowa,  Professor 
Eastman  has  prepared  sets  of  slides,  with  about  fifty  in 
each  set,  for  illustrating  the  subjects  discussed  by  high- 
school  classes.  The  sets  are:  (i)  The  Roman  House; 
(2)  Roman  Games  and  Amusements;  (3)  Roman  Wearing- 
Apparel;  (4)  Correspondence  and  Travel;  (5)  Roman 
Trades  and  Crafts;  (6-8)  Sets  Illustrating  Caesar,  Cicero, 
and  Vergil. 

These  sets  have  been  in  demand  in  various  parts 
of  the  country,  and  while  they  were  not  planned  with 
a  view  to  general  sale,  it  will  be  possible  to  secure  any 
of  the  sets  from  Professor  Eastman  at  very  reasonable 
prices. 


H2  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

b)  Mr.  W.  C.  Ives,  Grafton,  New  Hampshire. — One  of 
the  best  collections  of  negatives  of  classical  subjects  yet 
made  is  that  of  Professor  Charles  Upton  Clark,  formerly 
of  Yale  University,  now  director  of  the  American  Academy 
in  Rome,  Italy.     He  has  placed  all  his  slides  in  charge  of 
Mr.  Ives,  who  will  make  slides  or  photographic  enlarge- 
ments of  any  of  the  photographs.     Prints  will  be  furnished 
from  which  to  make  selections. 

c)  Arthur  S.  Cooley,  Lehigh  University,  South  Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania. — Dr.  Cooley  has  a  large  collection  of  slides, 
and  has  made  arrangements  for  supplying  them  to  teachers 
and  others.     He  also  rents  slides  at  fair  rates. 

d)  Special  authors. — Mr.  George  R.  Swain,  Ann  Arbor, 
Michigan,  has  a  large  collection  of  slides  for  illustrating 
Caesar.     The  Records  of  the  Past  Exploration  Society, 
Washington,  D.C.,  will  furnish  a  very  good  set  of  40  slides 
for  illustrating  the  Aeneid  of  Vergil.     Quite  recently  they 
have  announced  several  other  sets  which  appear  attractive. 

6.  Photographs. — Any  of  the  dealers  in  lantern  slides 
can  furnish  photographs  of  value  to  Latin  teachers.     If 
time  permits,  orders  sent  to  the  following  addresses  will 
be  properly  attended  to:  Alinari  &  Cook,  Corso  Umberto, 
Rome,  Italy;  D.  Anderson,  Via  Salaria,  Rome,  Italy;  Eng- 
lish Photographic  Company,  care  of  W.  Barth,  Athens, 
Greece.     Supplies   of   this   kind   ordered   for   educational 
institutions  are  admitted  free  of  duty. 

7.  Coins. — A  few  coins,  genuine  if  possible,  will  add 
greatly  to  the  interest  of  your  Latin  teaching.     They  may 
be  had  of:  S.  H.  Chapman,  Drexel  Building,  Philadelphia; 
Henry  Chapman,  1348  Pine  Street,  Philadelphia. 

Electro  copies  of  any  of  the  coins  in  the  British  Museum 
may  be  had  at  reasonable  prices,  by  writing  to  the  Curator. 


CLASSROOM  EQUIPMENT  113 

8.  Home-made  illustrative  materials. — In  every  class 
there  may  be  some  students  of  a  mechanical  turn  of  mind, 
and  these  are  easily  interested  in  making,  in  model,  copies 
of  objects  which  are  daily  kept  before  the  class,  particularly 
while  reading  Caesar. 

Dimensions  for  such  things  as  the  pilum,  hasta,  gladius, 
sicca,  scorpio,  torment  a,  scutum,  and  the  like,  may  be  found 
in  the  various  reference  books,  as  can  good  wood-cuts. 
From  these,  even  where  accurate  dimensions  are  not 
obtainable,  satisfactory  working  estimates  can  be  made 
which  will  answer  every  purpose.  The  famous  bridge  can 
be  built  by  any  boy  who  makes  the  effort,  and  the  teacher 
who  has  not  had  this  done  should  busy  himself  immediately. 
Also  he  can  make,  or  get  a  student  to  make  the  vinea, 
scorpio,  aries,  turris,  and  similar  implements,  fairly  good 
designs  for  which  are  given  in  the  textbooks. 

It  is  very  profitable  to  have  some  of  the  girl  students 
make,  in  model  also,  articles  of  dress,  as  the  toga,  stola, 
and  the  like.  Some  teachers  find  it  possible  to  have  one 
or  more  togas,  pairs  of  sandals,  stolas,  etc.,  of  full  size,  a 
practice  which  is  commendable  wherever  practicable.  If 
suitable  miniature  figures  are  obtainable,  good  results 
may  be  obtained  by  having  these  dressed  completely,  one 
each  as  imperator,  legatus,  centurio,  and  so  on,  after  the 
designs  given  in  the  various  texts. 

This  list  does  not  include  a  large  number  of  reliable 
houses  from  which  supplies  may  be  secured.  It  has  seemed 
better  to  give  a  few  of  the  best,  rather  than  a  complete  list. 
Those  who  prefer  a  larger  number  from  which  to  select  any 
articles  wanted  will  find  such  a  list,  prepared  by  Miss 
Loura  B.  Woodruff,  in  the  Classical  Journal,  XI,  3. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
QUESTIONS,  WITH  ANSWERS  AND  SUGGESTIONS 

Questions  in  large  numbers. — Immediately  after  the 
publication  of  the  Handbook  referred  to  in  the  preface,  there 
came  to  its  editor  a  veritable  flood  of  questions  in  which 
young  Latin  teachers  in  every  section  of  the  country 
showed  their  earnest  desire  to  improve  their  teaching  and 
to  remedy  certain  conditions  which  were  facing  them. 
Some  questions  were  of  a  personal  nature  and  were  con- 
cerned with  problems  of  a  local  character,  but  a  large 
majority  were  very  similar,  showing  that  teachers  of  high- 
school  Latin  are  facing  practically  the  same  difficulties 
everywhere.  Answer  was  made  to  these  questions  in  so 
far  as  opportunity  allowed,  and  for  the  benefit  of  young 
teachers  some  of  these  are  given  here. 

When  should  we  begin  Latin? — If  we  could  work  under 
ideal  conditions,  without  question  we  should  favor  begin- 
ning Latin  sooner  in  the  course  of  study  than  is  now  cus- 
tomary, say  as  early  as  the  sixth  or  seventh  grade,  as  is 
done  in  some  of  the  schools  in  Europe.  If  we  could  begin 
at  that  time  and  use  a  simpler  text,  possibly  a  modification 
of  the  so-called  " direct-method"  plan,  some  of  the  more 
troublesome  problems  of  the  teacher  might  be  solved. 
However,  it  is  probable  that  Latin  will  remain  fixed  where 
it  is,  in  the  high  school,  and  we  must  make  it  as  effective 
there  as  possible. 

What  about  translations? — They  are  a  great  nuisance, 
and  a  great  barrier  to  effective  Latin  teaching.  Certain 
publishers  circularize  schools  all  over  the  country,  sending 

114 


QUESTIONS,  ANSWERS  AND  SUGGESTIONS        115 

their  advertising  matter  to  every  pupil  whose  name  they 
can  get  from  catalogues,  or  otherwise.  The  result  is  that 
practically  every  high-school  pupil  knows  where  he  can  get 
a  translation  for  50  cents.  Sometimes  one  of  these  copies 
passes  from  one  class  to  another  for  years.  Teachers  are 
practically  helpless.  Once  in  a  while  they  find  out  who 
uses  a  translation,  but  generally  they  cannot  tell.  Some 
wise  men  assure  us  that  they  can  "spot  a  pony  on  his  first 
bray/'  but  it  is  a  vain  fancy.  They  do  so  only  by  accident, 
if  at  all. 

Classical  study  and  modern  languages  in  the  same  way 
have  suffered  because  of  this  too  common  use  of  transla- 
tions. We  all  know  that  these  things  block  our  best  efforts 
to  make  Latin  effective  as  an  educational  instrument,  but 
the  remedy  has  not  been  discovered.  The  following  sug- 
gestions have  been  made  by  various  teachers : 

1.  Appeal  to  the  honor  of  the  class  and  urge  the  pupils 
not  to  use  translations.     Explain  the  hopelessness  of  the 
effort  to  learn  Latin  without  hard  work.     Show  them  that 
it  is  dishonest  to  use  a  translation  taken  from  a  book  and 
pretend  that  it  is  their  own.     If  they  use  a  translation, 
they  should  be  open  and  frank  about  it.     You  may  make 
some  headway  by  this  plan.     If  there  is  no  sense  of  honor 
to  appeal  to,  you  can  do  nothing. 

2.  At  the  opening  of  the  term  explain  your  opposition 
to  the  use  of  translations,  give  your  reasons  for  your  posi- 
tion, and  ask  those  who  took  the  course  expecting  to  use  a 
translation  to  take  something  else,  as  they  are  not  wanted 
in  the  Latin  classes.     Some  of  the  lazier  pupils  may  forsake 
you  if  you  make  this  request. 

3.  Let  it  be  understood  that  your  examinations  will  be 
based  mainly  on  new  work;  that  is,  that  you  will  give  large 


n6  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

credit  for  new  passages  which  will  be  assigned  from  parts 
of  the  book  not  read  in  class.  For  this  let  the  pupils  have 
the  vocabulary  just  as  when  preparing  the  lesson  at  home. 
They  ought  to  know  that  translations  will  fail  them  in  a 
test  like  that,  and  that  the  sensible  course  for  them  is  to 
do  their  own  work  as  they  go  along  and  to  learn  how  to  do 
any  task  assigned  them. 

4.  Assign  lessons  which  can  be  done  within  a  reasonable 
time,    without    overtaxing    your    class.     The    translation 
habit  is  sometimes  traceable  to  unreasonably  long  lessons. 
Even  honest  students  feel  under  such  circumstances  that 
they  cannot  hope  to  do  all  the  work  required  and  so  they 
have  recourse  to  the  inviting  "trot."     No  matter  if  the 
standard  requirement  does  call  for  so  much  Latin,  do  what 
your  class  can  do  well,  and  with  fair  consideration  for  other 
departments,  and  let  the  rest  go  undone.     Make  definite 
assignments  in  construction.     Do  not  call  for  any  and  all 
sorts  of  constructions  each  day.     Begin  on  one  or  two  things 
in  syntax,  as  has  been  repeatedly  urged,  and  move  on 
evenly,  adding  one  thing  at  a  time  and  leaving  a  construc- 
tion when  it  is  learned. 

5.  Be  careful  about  suspecting  pupils  of  using  transla- 
tions.    If  you  feel  sure  that  a  boy  is  doing  so,  you  had  best 
tell  him  of  your  fears  privately.     It  is  likely  that  he  will 
grow  indignant  and  say  too  much.     Be  sure  of  your  ground, 
therefore,  and  talk  the  matter  over  with  him  alone.     The 
class  will  side  with  the  pupil  if  anything  personal  is  brought 
up.     A  good  way  to  handle  a  suspected  case  is  to  give 
that  student  no  opportunity  to  translate,  but  to  hold  him 
rigidly  to  account  for  the  assigned  syntax.     The  translation 
devotee  does  not  often  prepare  his  syntax.     If  you  let  him 
read  at  all,  require  him  to  translate  word  by  word.     Ordi- 


QUESTIONS,  ANSWERS  AND  SUGGESTIONS        117 

narily  this  is  a  bad  plan,  but  it  does  break  into  the  "  per- 
sonal liber ty"  of  the  translation  fiend  to  rattle  over  the 
page.  Let  him  give  Latin  word  and  English  equivalent, 
word  by  word,  and  he  will  be  forced  to  work  out  his  lesson 
somewhat  closely  even  if  he  does  hold  to  his  handy  mount. 

Should  Latin  be  required  of  all  pupils  ? — That  depends 
upon  the  nature  of  the  school.  Some  private  institutions 
regularly  require  Latin  of  all  their  pupils,  and  will  admit 
no  qne  who  does  not  want  Latin.  This  is  entirely  right 
for  such  schools.  For  public  schools,  however,  it  is  not  the 
best  policy  to  require  all  pupils  to  take  Latin,  although  a 
school  board  has  a  right  to  require  it  if  the  members 
believe  it  to  be  the  best  thing  for  a  particular  school. 
Public  schools  are  trying  to  reach  out  and  to  serve  all  classes 
of  pupils,  those  who  have  good,  strong  minds  and  those  who 
have  no  minds  worth  mentioning.  Such  weaker  pupils 
will  be  greatly  helped  by  four  years  of  a  high  school,  and 
something  must  be  offered  of  a  kind  that  will  appeal  to 
them  and  still  train  them  in  some  direction.  The  absurdity 
comes  in  when  school  principals  and  others  try  to  make 
the  public  believe  that  a  course  of  study  made  up  of  half- 
worked-out  subjects  is  as  effective  as  the  Latin  or  so-called 
classical  course,  and  that  the  graduates  of  the  various 
departments  are  on  an  equal  basis.  "  Rejoice  and  be 
exceeding  glad"  that  you  do  not  have  to  worry  Latin  into 
the  heads  of  those  who  cannot  receive  it.  Do  your  best 
to  make  men  and  women  out  of  those  who  can  take  Latin. 

How  about  the  "direct  method  of  teaching  Latin"? — So 
far,  it  is  largely  experimental.  There  are  possibilities  in  the 
plan,  but  a  very  thorough  mastery  of  Latin  is  required  in 
order  to  succeed  with  it.  Its  use  is  confined  mainly  to  a 
few  English  schools,  with  occasional  experiments  in  this 


n8  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

country.  It  would  undoubtedly  work  out  well  if  we  could 
begin  Latin  earlier  in  the  grades. 

The  movement  is  worthy  of  careful  investigation.  The 
books  prepared  for  this  method  may  be  had  of  the  Oxford 
University  Press,  American  Branch,  New  York  City. 

Where  can  I  get  arguments  in  favor  of  Latin? — The 
best  argument  a  teacher  can  give  in  favor  of  his  subject 
is  found  in  his  teaching.  No  matter  how  powerful  he  may 
be  in  his  arguments  in  favor  of  Latin,  if  he  does  not  do 
good  work  as  a  teacher  he  will  not  help  the  cause  of  Latin 
by  his  arguments.  Then,  too,  controversy  is  not  often 
profitable  for  a  young  teacher.  You  should  know  the  value 
.of  your  subject  and  when  you  find  the  right  opportunity 
your  evidence  will  help  your  cause. 

If  you  should  find  someone  who  is  really  seeking  after 
the  facts  with  an  open  mind,  you  may  be  justified  in  trying 
to  furnish  him  with  data  that  will  satisfy  any  reasonable 
man.  The  best  available  source  is  Professor  Kelsey's 
Latin  and  Greek  in  American  Education,  especially  Pro- 
fessor Shorey's  article.  Study  this  closely,  and  watch  the 
references  in  the  footnotes,  a  valuable  part  of  the  paper. 
You  will  probably  find  in  that  volume  enough  for  any  con- 
dition that  may  face  you.  If  you  need  other  material,  get 
Miss  Sabin's  book,  The  Relation  of  Latin  to  Practical  Life, 
and  the  pamphlets  issued  by  the  publicity  committee  of 
the  Classical  Association  of  the  Middle  West  and  South, 
"Arguing  with  Bob/'  "Bob  Goes  to  College,"  etc.  Then 
some  of  the  following  arguments  touched  upon  in  this  book 
may  help  you : 

i.  Our  language  and  literature  are  largely  borrowed 
from  the  Latin  (see  "English  in  Latin  Study")- 


QUESTIONS,  ANSWERS  AND  SUGGESTIONS        119 

2.  Latin  is  the  basis  of  all  the  Romance  languages, 
French,   Spanish,   Italian,   Portuguese,   etc.     One   cannot 
thoroughly  understand  these  languages  without  a  knowl- 
edge of  Latin;  and  a  pupil  who  does  know  Latin  can  learn 
them  in  half  the  time  required  by  the  non-Latin  student 
to  get  a  smattering. 

3.  Our  civilization  is  largely  derived  from  the  Roman, 
including  our  laws,  political  customs,  religion,  and  even  our 
everyday  customs.     Few  realize  the  extent  of  our  obliga- 
tion to  the  Romans.     Not  only  have  we  taken  over  these 
laws,  etc.,  but  the  very  words  by  which  we  name  them  are 
of  Latin  origin. 

4.  Latin  has  for  centuries  been  a  factor  in  our  education. 
It  could  not  have  held  its  place  if  it  had  not  been  effective 
as  an  instrument  in  making  educated  men  and  women. 
Substitutes  now  being  tried  have  so  far  failed  utterly  as 
regards  the  type  of  scholar  turned  out. 

5.  The  world's  laws,  politics,  customs,  and  education 
have  been  largely  based  on  those  developed  in  Rome,  even 
as  the  highest  type  of  religion  spread  from  the  Eternal  City. 

What  can  I  do  about  this  "vocation"  business? — There 
is  a  great  deal  of  common-sense  back  of  the  general  demand 
for  training  that  will  help  in  making  a  living.  Young 
people  should  grow  up  with  the  fact  before  them  that  they 
will  some  day  be  expected  to  do  their  part  as  men  and 
women.  Those  who  study  Latin  should  know  how  to  earn 
a  livelihood,  and  those  who  put  their  whole  thought  upon 
making  the  livelihood  would  be  better  off  if  they  also  studied 
Latin.  Latin  teachers,  therefore,  are  as  much  interested 
in  vocational  training  as  anybody  else,  and  they  should  give 
it  due  encouragement. 


120  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

Vocational  training  in  this  country  is  unfortunately 
burdened  and  there  is  danger  that  a  good  cause  may  be 
permanently  damaged  in  consequence,  for  the  following 
reasons:  (i)  All  the  faddists  who  have  been  chasing 
fantasies  for  a  generation  have  taken  up  the  slogan  of 
vocational  training.  With  sober-minded  people,  their 
advocacy  arouses  prejudice  against  any  cause  they  may 
espouse.  (2)  These  faddists  attack  other  subjects,  Latin 
in  particular,  and  thus  antagonize  a  great  many  people 
unnecessarily.  People  who  have  studied  Latin  have  made 
good  citizens  and  are  as  successful  in  making  a  living  as 
the  vocationist  could  wish.  (3)  The  advocates  of  voca- 
tional training  make  a  mistake  in  forcing  it  upon  the  ordi- 
nary schools,  rather  than  establishing  special  schools  for 
this  purpose,  wherever  students  are  available  in  sufficiently 
large  numbers.  If  vocational  training  is  to  become  effec- 
tive in  the  sense  of  trade  schools,  separate  schools  are  abso- 
lutely necessary.  If  our  present  schools  become  efficient 
vocational  schools,  they  will  cease  to  be  of  value  for  any 
other  purpose.  General  education  or  special  training  will 
fail  in  the  experiment,  possibly  both.  (4)  The  main  point 
is  well  stated  by  Dean  Bagley:  "Most  of  those  who  advo- 
cate early  vocational  differentiation  are  not  thinking  of 
their  own  children.  Of  course  a  broad  and  liberal  training 
is  presupposed  for  them.  These  opportunities  for  early 
vocational  choices  are  for  other  people's  children."1 

You  will  do  the  right  thing  if  you  help  along  the  cause 
of  vocational  training  wherever  possible, 'regardless  of  the 
lack  of  good  judgment  shown  by  some  of  those  who  try 

1  From  an  address  at  the  Detroit  meeting  of  the  Department  of  Superin- 
tendence, National  Education  Association,  1916. 


QUESTIONS,  ANSWERS  AND  SUGGESTIONS        121 

to  monopolize  the  movement.  You  have  as  much  at  stake 
as  anybody. 

How  can  I  test  my  work? — There  are  several  fairly 
satisfactory  tests  which  one  can  apply  to  his  own  work, 
but  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case  the  outcome  must  remain 
largely  subjective.  One  will  see  what  one  is  looking  for. 
Interest  in  the  work,  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  of  the  classics, 
and  similar  evidences  are  encouraging,  but  the  following 
are  about  the  most  accurate  tests  that  we  can  use:  (i)  the 
number  of  your  graduates  who,  on  entering  college,  con- 
tinue their  Latin;  (2)  the  number  who  maintain  them- 
selves with  credit  in  the  Latin  department  of  higher  institu- 
tions. 

Colleges  generally  know  what  to  expect  of  the  graduates 
of  particular  high  schools.  Some  of  these  enter  for  good 
hard  work  from  the  very  first,  while  other  groups  on  arrival 
have  a  complete  familiarity  with  the  "snap"  courses  and 
the  "easy"  professors,  and  devote  themselves  to  the  latter 
assiduously. 

High  schools  which  do  good  work  in  Latin  send  out 
students  who  are  conscious  of  their  ability  and  preparedness 
to  take  their  places  with  the  representatives  of  any  and  all 
other  high  schools,  and  they  enter  college  with  a  determina- 
tion to  measure  up  to  the  very  best.  Poor  preparatory 
training  is  promotive  of  intellectual  cowardice,  which  asserts 
itself  nowhere  more  decidedly  than  in  Latin  and  mathe- 
matics. If  your  graduates  take  Latin  in  college  generally 
and  maintain  good  records,  you  are  doing  high-grade  work 
in  your  department. 

How  can  I  wake  up  my  school  to  the  value  of  Latin?— 

i.  Make  sure  that  you  are  yourself  awake.  A  sleepy 
teacher  will  make  a  sleepy  classroom.  A  sleepy  teacher 


122  TEACHING  HIGH-SCHOOL  LATIN 

will  practically  kill  any  subject  he  may  teach,  no  matter 
what  it  is. 

2.  Join   one   of   the   classical   associations   referred   to 
elsewhere  and  get  into  touch  with  what  the  live  teachers 
are  doing  in  other  schools.     This  duty  of  every  Latin 
teacher  is  well-nigh  imperative.     The  writer  knows  per- 
sonally a  large  number  of  young  Latin  teachers,  and  he 
gives  it  as  his  testimony  that  he  does  not  know  a  single  one 
who  belongs  to  one  of  these  associations  and  reads  the 
Classical  Journal  or  Classical  Weekly  who  is  not  succeeding 
in  his  work  as  a  teacher.     You  greatly  need  the  help  that 
these  associations  and  these  journals  will  give  you. 

3.  Elsewhere  a  play  is  suggested.     One  of  the  following 
may  prove  interesting:     (i)    Two  Latin  Plays  for  High 
School  Students,  by  Susan  Paxson  (Ginn  &  Co.) ;    (2)  Easy 
Latin  Plays  (George  Bell  &  Sons,  London);    (3)  Classical 
Stories  Dramatized  for  School  Use,  by  L.  O.  Lennart  (Enter- 
tainment Publishing  Co.);    (4)   Two  Dramatizations  from 
Vergil,  by  Professor  F.  J.  Miller  (The  University  of  Chicago 
Press);    (5)    Latin  Plays,   by  Professor  J.  J.   Schleicher 
(Ginn  &  Co.). 

4.  Form  a  Latin  club,  and  now  and  then  get  your  pupils 
together  for  combined  business  and  social  purposes.     Try 
to  have  an  invited  guest  on  each  such  evening  to  address 
the  club,  briefly  and  pointedly,  stressing  some  phase  of 
classical  study.     Pupils  themselves  will  sometimes  prepare 
papers,   as  a  result  of  an   investigation  which  you  can 
direct. 

5.  Send    for   Classical,   Mediaeval  and   Modern   Latin 
Songs,  with  Music,  by  Calvin  S.  Brown  (Putnam),  and  get 
your  whole  neighborhood  to  singing  Latin  songs.     Select 
one  or  two  of  the  best  and  teach  them  to  your  classes. 


QUESTIONS,  ANSWERS  AND  SUGGESTIONS        123 

Now  and  then  arrange  to  have  them  sung  at  the  daily 
gatherings  of  the  student  body. 

6.  Read  this  book  through  again,  and  see  if  you  have 
done  all  the  things  suggested.  If  not,  doing  them  might 
solve  your  problem. 

The  Classical  Associations. — There  are  several  classical 
associations,  one  of  which  is  entitled  to  your  sympathy 
and  help,  and  in  turn  is  ready  to  be  of  great  assistance  to 
you  in  your  work  as  a  teacher.  They  are  as  follows:  the 
Classical  Association  of  New  England;  the  Classical  Asso- 
ciation of  the  Atlantic  states;  the  Classical  Association  of 
the  Middle  West,  and  South;  the  Classical  Association  of 
the  Pacific  Coast. 

These  associations  are  upholding  the  cause  of  classical 
education,  and  their  meetings  will  help  you.  The  Classical 
Journal  (The  University  of  Chicago  Press)  or  the  Classical 
Weekly  (New  York)  will  give  you  any  information  you 
wish  about  membership  in  any  one  of  these  associations. 
Or  you  may  make  inquiry  of  the  head  of  the  department 
of  Latin  in  your  state  university  or  college. 

Your  state  teachers'  association  probably  has  a  classical 
section  that  you  should  join,  if  you  have  not  already  done 
so.  Be  on  your  watch  for  such  organizations,  and  do  your 
full  part. 

Book  houses. — The  general  bookstores  in  the  cities  can 
secure  for  you  any  volume  referred  to  in  this  book.  In 
order  to  avoid  delays,  you  will  be  absolutely  safe  if  you 
send  such  orders  to  The  University  of  Chicago  Press, 
Chicago,  Illinois.  Information  as  to  prices,  and  the  like, 
can  also  be  had  for  the  asking. 


INDEX 


Accent,  71 

Lantern  slides,  in 

Adeste,  fidele,  102 

Latin-English  exercise,  67 

Art  and  Archaeology,  109 

Latin:   immediate  service,  i;  larger 

service,  9;  oral,  98 

Bagley,  Dean,  29,  120 
Bennett,  Charles  E.,  41 

Laurie,  Professor,  4 
Lauriger,  Horatius,  105 

Bible,  Latin,  99 

Loeb,  James,  14 

Book  houses,  123 

Books,  83,  90,  95,  108 
Byrne,  Lee,  109 

Miller,  F.  J.,  49,  94 
Miller,  Walter,  26 
Modern  languages,  21 

Character  building,  108 

Mythology,  49 

Charts,  12 
Clark,  C.  U.,  112 

Oral  Latin,  98 

Classical  Associations,  122,  123 

Parsing,  81 

Classical  Journal,  109,  122,  123 

Photographs,  112 

Classical  Weekly,  109,  122,  123 

Pictures,  no 

Clubs,  122 

Plays,  93,  122 

Coins,  112 

Pronunciation,  70 

Collar  and  Daniell,  57 

Prose  composition,  92,  96 

Controversy,  27 
Course  for  teachers,  44 

Quantity,  71 
Questions,  114 

Daclytic  hexameter,  92 
Darwin,  case  of,  17 

Results,  summary  of,  7 

Dies  irae,  103 

Sabin,  Miss,  109,  118 

Direct  method,  117 

Sciences,  23 

Sculptures,  no 

Eastman,  F.  C.,  in 

Second-year  Latin,  74 

English  grammar,  48 

Shorey,  Paul,  33,  118 

English-Latin  exercise,  68 

Sloane,  William,  14 

English  vocabulary,  47 

Songs,  105,  122 

Equipment,  108 

Statistics,  54 

Fads,  faddists,  19 

Teacher  and  subject,  35 

First-year  Latin,  57 

Teachers  needed,  38 

Foster,  W.  E.,  2 

Teachers,  self-trained,  46 

Fourth-year  Latin,  95 

Teacher's  task,  8 

Gaudeamus,  106 
Geography,  84 

Teacher-training,  40 
Test  of  work,  121 
Text,  54,  55,  57 

Harris,  W.  T.,  5 

Theme,  84,  89,  93 

Hayden,  E.  A.,  25 

Translations,  114 

Hymns,  Latin,  101 

Utility,  21,  23 

lesu  pro  me,  104 
Illustrative  materials,  82,  113 

Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus,  102 
Vocabulary,  61 

Integer  vitae,  106 

Vocational  learning,  119 

Kelsey,  F.  W.,  3,  44,  109,  118 

Williams,  Charles,  6,  17 

125 

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